


Lithe

by Fangedlovers



Series: To Build A Home Series [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Depression, F/M, Family, Friendship, Home, Lies, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, SHIELD, Slow Burn, Spy - Freeform, Stark Family, Team as Family, The Avengers - Freeform, Tony Stark Daughter, Violence, lithe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-04-22 08:52:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 124,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14305158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangedlovers/pseuds/Fangedlovers
Summary: He was on the road to greatness. Tony had recently graduated MIT at the top of his class at the age of 17. Every door he wanted would easily be open for him. Then a small hazel eyed girl fell on his doorstep. Literally.Rebecca had a legacy to her before she even knew how to walk. All thanks to her last name. Now it’s her turn to find out who she is on her own with a pair of ballet shoes in one hand and a dagger in the other.Her father has turned in his Armani suits for Iron, her grandfather’s business wants her in their division, and now a man who has been asleep for 70 years has set all his trust on her to keep him afloat.What could possibly go wrong?





	1. Looking At You

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Dear Sophie - Tim Halperin

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

This might look a bit familiar because I'm finally bringing it back. I took sometime and have gone back in to recreate this story.

This is a Steve/OC, but we're building a character so get ready for a ride from the beginning!

So let's get started...again!

* * *

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**Looking At You**

_Looking at You from my eyes to my heart, I knew that I loved you right from the start_  
_You're lying there as still as could be, you open your eyes and you look back at me_  
_So go on and dream as big as the sea but dont let the tide take you too far from me_  
_Well go on and find who you wanna be and know that my love for you will never leave_

17 years old. At age 17, Tony Stark was ready to take on the world. He had just graduated from MIT at the top of his class and had every door he wanted open for him to venture through. But sometimes when you open one of those doors you could be quite surprised about what you find on the other side. Or rather who.

Bright, hazel eyes starred up at him in wonder. He looked up and down the hallway of the loft but found no one in sight.

"Honey, why are you just standing there? I thought you had a meeting?" His mother, Maria, asked from the foyer.

Tony still stood there awestruck at the small bundle that had yet to make a sound. The small baby actually gave a toothless grin at him and that was all.

"What's wrong, dear?" Maria walked over to her son and gasped at the sight. "Oh my Lord…" The older woman quickly bent down to grab the poor defenseless baby in her arms. "You poor thing. How long have you been out here?" She asked knowing she wasn't going to get a response in return.

Tony's eyes found an envelope on the ground that must had been laid under the infant. He grasped it in his shaky hands, seeing his name in messy handwriting in the center. The teenager pulled the paper out of it as his mother cooed over the baby. His stomach sank to his feet as he read.

_Tony,_

_This really is ignorant of me to tell you this in a letter, but then again, our relationship was never really the traditional or healthy type. It's been some long and difficult 10 months since the last time I saw you. Since I've left you. We were only 16 and thought we knew the world. And now at just 17 I still don't know who the hell I am._

_You however seem to be finding yourself, at least that's what all the press says. And that's as much contact I've had or would have with you. But I suppose I should get to the point of you even finding this message in the first place. I left you because I got pregnant. I was scared and didn't know what I wanted to do. My parents made me keep the baby even though I knew I wasn't ready to be a mother yet._

_And I'm still not. I tried._

_Rebecca was born on June 25 at 1:23 AM. She was 7 pounds, 10 ounces. 20 inches long. She's your daughter Tony. Do a paternity test if you wish, but she'll still be yours. I've included the paperwork for you to take full guardianship._

_She'll have a better life with you than she ever would with me._

_-C_

Tony felt the lump in his throat drop all the way to his stomach and then to his feet. He looked back up at the small infant that was wrapped in the light purple blanket. She was already looking back at him, as if she knew the whole time the little secret that was now between the two of them.

"What'd it say, sweetheart?" Marie asked quietly, gently swaying with the small girl in her arms.

"She's mine." Tony whispered, still staring. "She's my daughter."

At his words, Rebecca gurgled, giving him another toothless grin.

* * *

 

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR MY REBECCA!**


	2. Losing My Religion

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Losing My Religion - Dia Frampton

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

We are now really getting into it and I'm excited for you to explore this world more.

* * *

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**Losing My Religion**

_I thought that I heard you laughing_   
_I thought that I heard you sing_   
_I think I thought I saw you try_   
_But that was just a dream_

**_February 2008_ **

Standing in the air conditioned airport lobby it felt like every eye was on her. She had the hood of her jacket up over her head and kept her eyes focused on the luggage carousel. If she learned anything from a young age it was to not make eye contact with anyone if you didn't want to start a conversation immediately. That's what happens when your last name is one that holds authority around the world. Paparazzi, media, and anyone who wanted more in depth focus on her family turned up at always the least opportune time. And with your last name Stark, it was more or less always wanting info about the new scandal her father was involved in.

Rebecca had dealt with it for her whole life. It really became a problem when she turned 16 and was able to start driving herself around Malibu and surrounding areas. The media was constantly on her, trying to see what the young Stark was up. Was she going to parties? Trying to be the new teenage sweetheart of her time? The answer was simple. No. They slowly started getting the gist that they weren't going to get any big headlines from her and simply went back to throwing themselves at her father. And why would they? When Rebecca did go out it was because she had a dance lesson or was simply running errands.

So here she was, back in town for spring break and was already on edge. Her father, Tony, constantly told her to just use the private jet to get back and forth from California and New York, but she declined every time. The whole point of going to school in New York was to get out of the constant SoCal limelight. That and the fact that she was given the opportunity to continue her path in dance at Juilliard. It was truly an honor of being accepted, and she made absolute positive that she would be getting in on her skills, not her name recognition.

The phone vibrating obnoxiously in her hand brought herself back to reality. She smiled at the text from Pepper Potts, letting her know she was waiting right outside for her. At finally seeing her dark purple suitcase, Rebecca pulled it off the conveyor belt and started the long streak out of the airport. She quickly pulled her sunglasses over her eyes at seeing the bright sunshine through the glass doors. What a completely different atmosphere from New York at the moment where it was freezing and snowing at any moment.

Breaking the threshold, it was immediate that she found Pepper standing off to the right side. She picked up her pace and grinned from ear to ear at the sight of the older women.

"Hey, sweetie!" The redhead squealed softly, bringing the younger girl into a tight hug. "It's so good to have you home."

"It's so good to be home." Letting herself fall into the hug. "I love New York, but the cold was killing my muscles."

"Well you've got a week of warmth." Pepper squeezed her shoulders before letting her go.

The two girls watched the driver put her suitcase in the trunk before opening the door so they could slide in the backseat. Rebecca finally pulled off her hood and took her sunglasses off when she was out of sight. She looked outside through the blacked windows seeing no paparazzi in sight.

"Wow. No cameras in my face." The young girl mumbled, peeling off her jacket to get comfortable. "I'm kinda surprised."

"Well, your father's being rewarded tonight in Vegas. So that's the big story of the day." Pepper mumbled, looking at something on her phone. No doubt it having to do with Stark Industries.

"That's right. The Apogee Award? Right?" She pulled out her own phone, seeing no new notifications.

"That's the one. You didn't want to go?"

"It's not a lot of fun to be in Vegas when you're only 20 and can't do much of anything." Rebecca sighed softly. "And knowing dad he's going to spend most of his time on the casino floor."

Pepper gave the girl a sympathetic smile. "You know, he's already planning your 21st birthday this summer right? It's very rare for him to start planning something so far in advance."

"Yeah, that's because it's a party. And Tony Stark loves to party." Rebecca let her head rest against the cold window, staring out at the palm trees and city streets passing her by.

Pepper watched as her eyes glazed over, officially rolling back into herself. She has been able to watch this young girl grow before her eyes the best of 10 years. When she was given the job as Tony's assistant she would have never realized that she would also become this sort of mother figure to the youngest Stark as well. But she took it in stride. Rebecca never needed much guidance, she was always a step ahead of her time just as her father was at that age. But the difference was Rebecca didn't want that recognition, so Pepper had tried her best to let her just be an average teenage girl.

By the time the car had made it to the mansion in Malibu, Rebecca was ready to spend some time alone and hopefully get some sleep that she desperately needed after her crazy first half of the semester. They pulled in from the gate, looked up at the original designed mansion.

"You don't have to come in. I'm sure you're busy." Rebecca told Pepper, as she grabbed her items.

"Are you sure? I have a little bit of time."

"No it's fine. Go spend it doing something you actually like to do. It's very rare to not play tag along to my dad." She smiled before giving the woman anther hug. "Thanks for picking me up, Pepper."

"Anytime, Becca. Let me know if you need anything." Pepper gave the girl another smile.

"I will. Happy early birthday by the way." Rebecca gave her a large smile and pulled herself out of the car. She gave the driver a big 'thank you' as he pulled her luggage out of the trunk. The dancer rolled her suitcase up the cement steps before pausing to put her code into the front door. The glass door automatically popped open for her and she stepped through the entrance. The open living room was exactly how she left it after winter break and the same way it's been for most of her life.

"Hey, Jarvis." She spoke to the house.

"Good to have you home, Ms. Stark." The computer responded back to her.

She sighed, just standing in the empty room. She was alone. Again.

* * *

Rebecca woke up early the next morning despite how much she wanted to sleep in. But given the fact that she was still on east coast time, it was probably better to keep up with it to not hurt herself when her short break was over. She knew her father returned sometime the night before or early that morning as she heard Jarvis' greeting, but other than that she was deaf to the world. Sleep was one of her best friends, since it gave her time to rest her constantly working muscles.

Standing in the kitchen, watching the sun slowly rise, Becca for the moment was at peace. That peace though quickly ended at the sound of shoes clambering against the marble floor.

"I thought I smelled fresh coffee." Tony mumbled, seeing his daughter standing at the counter.

"Just made it." She gave her father a soft smile as she worked on her breakfast of cereal and fresh fruit.

"This is why I like when you're home." He poured himself a mug.

"Good to know I'm needed just for my coffee making skills." Rebecca's sarcasm was thick on her tongue.

Tony rolled his eyes at his daughter's statement. He walked over to drop a kiss against the top of her head. "Of course it's more than that, smartass. It's just that no one can make coffee like you." He pulled away, sipping his coffee. "Come downstairs with me before I have to leave."

"Where are you going?" She asked around a mouthful of granola, following him through the house.

"Have to head to Afghanistan. Showing off the new equipment." He explained, punching his code in so they could enter the work shop. "You should come with me."

Rebecca laughed lightly. "Yeah, no I'm good."

"Why not? You're on Spring Break. You're in your twenty's. This is supposed to be the time you let go and enjoy yourself a little bit." Tony set himself up in front of the old school car he had been working on for a while.

Rebecca hopped up on the table opposite him. It wasn't that her father was inattentive of her life, it was just the fact that the two Starks had vastly different priorities. She oh-so-desperately was trying to make her own mark on the world without her family name slapped across her forehead. "I can't. I have lots of practice to do, not to mention a mountain of homework."

Tony turned to Becca with an 'are you serious' look upon his face. "I'm sure if you take a few days off no one will notice the difference."

The young brunette spooned more of her breakfast into her mouth. "I have my big recital coming up at the end of April. Remember, my spring recital?"

"Yes, yes. I remember." He started pulling apart the engine. "It's on the calendar. Right, Jarvis?"

"Correct, sir." The computer spoke to him.

"See. Trust your old man, would ya?" Rebecca rolled her eyes at the comment and continued eating her breakfast. "You know sometimes I wish you spent your time like other college kids."

"And the other times?" She raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"Well, the other times I'm glad you skipped the phase so I had less boyfriend asses to kick." Tony smiled back at his daughter before getting back to the car. "Jarvis, hit me with some music."

"Is this a classic rock morning, sir?"

"Isn't it always?" The mechanic nodded his head as the opening licks of AC/DC rumbled through the room.

It became quiet between the small family then. Tony working diligently while Rebecca finished her breakfast. She watched her father in awe. I guess you could say she was the oddball in the family. She never had any real care about mechanics or scientific discoveries. She knew how to do a few things from watching him over the years, but she was much more into the arts than science.

Tony had always joked that she had gotten that from her grandmother's side of the family. She understood what he meant, since the moments she really remembers as a small child was her grandmother, Maria, singing and playing the piano as the young girl would twirl around the living room. She might have been young at the time, but remembered and now missed her grandparents. She was only 4 when they were killed in a horrible car accident, but she still could recall the way her father's eyes became lifeless for a period of time.

"I'm going to go practice for a little bit." Rebecca pulled herself onto her feet, stretching her already anxious muscles.

"Um, yeah, alright." Tony thought over her actions, seemingly unwilling to let his daughter go.

"Is that okay?" She asked apprehensively.

"Yeah, of course. I'll let you know before I leave."

The twenty-year-old nodded her head and left the workshop to head back upstairs to dispose of her dirty dishes. As she finished loading the dishwasher, she rose an eyebrow at the sound of her father's name being called out. She stepped out towards the living room, seeing the source of the voice. A blonde, who was probably only a few years older than her, dressed in only her father's burgundy dress shirt.

Rebecca couldn't help but chuckle darkly. This was why Tony had been so reluctant in letting her come upstairs and made it a point to bring her downstairs. He was hoping his late night booty call would get out before she would see her.

The laugh turned the blonde's attention to her. "Oh, hi. I didn't know anyone else would be here."

"Clearly or you wouldn't be nearly naked in my living room." She gave a fake smile, crossing her arms over her chest.

"The Rebecca Stark." The other woman sauntered over to Becca, looking her up and down like she could get a rise out of her. "I have to say it's quite an honor to meet the next prodigy of the Stark family. You know I would love to get an article about you in Vanity Fair if you had the chance."

"Well, too bad for you but I don't have the time. You know, being a supposed prodigy and all." To anyone else in the world Becca always tried to give people the benefit of the doubt, but the second the magazine came spilling out of this reporter's mouth she closed back in on herself. How dare this woman stand in her living room and use her work on her.

"Becca? You good?" The two looked over to find Pepper had walked through the front door, dry cleaning in hand.

"Great." The young Stark nodded her head in annoyance. "I'm going to go practice. Let me know when you take the trash out."

* * *

The muscles in her legs held strong as she balanced up on her toes. She moved her arms about her body in a fluid motion. Becca continued dancing around the studio, letting her body start to take over and her mind falling back into place. She had only 2 months to make sure this routine was just that, a regular routine. That seemed like a lot of time to anyone on the outside, but for a dancer it was too little of time. She knew as soon as she returned back to school she would be living in the dance studio 24 hours a day.

She constantly felt like she was having to prove herself. Sure, she had made some good friends during her first two years at Juilliard, but there were still that whole other section that she knew judged her by who she was and not by her skills. Becca wasn't a cynical person, despite what life had thrown at her. She would give anyone the benefit of the doubt until proven differently. But on the opposite side of things, she had little to no trust in anyone.

"Ms. Stark, Happy is here for you." Jarvis spoke, breaking her concentration.

Becca let out of giant breath before sinking to the wooden floor. "Thanks, Jarvis." She slowly began to unpeel the ribbon from around her legs as she could hear Happy's footsteps inching closer.

"Becca?"

"In here, Hap." She called out, pulling the pointe shoes off her feet. She looked up at him with a soft smile as he stopped in the doorway of her studio. She wasn't expecting to see the older man until her dad was back from his trip at least since this gave the assistant a day off to do as he pleases. "What's up, Happy?"

"I need you to come with me, Becca." His voice was soft, sullen even.

Her eyes this time really looked him over at the odd tone in his voice. His body was in a rigid stance, almost not knowing how to hold himself, while his face told her a different story. Something was wrong. This wasn't the normal happy go lucky man that she had known most of her life. "What's wrong?"

"I…I just need to get you to Stark Industries…immediately."

"Why?! What's going on?" Her voice full of need and worry.

Happy looked down, shaking his head softly. He no longer could look into the young girl's unknowing face. "I can't tell you. You'll find out when we get there."

"Fine." Becca stood up, throwing her shoes to the corner of the room. "Let's go."

"Do you want to change first?"

"Nope." She slipped her off-the-shoulder shirt back over her tank-top. That with her soft cotton shorts would do just fine. Slipping into a pair of flip-flops, she followed Happy out of the house and into the company car. The ride to the office was silent. He didn't even turn the radio on which was odd, since that was always the first thing he would fiddle with when he got into the car.

Her eyes were still covered by her rose colored sunglasses as she walked through Stark Industries. She followed Happy through the pristine white building, feeling everyone glance at her. When you're Tony Stark's daughter it wasn't out of the ordinary for workers to look at her like she had a hold of their jobs. As if she was a cat playing with the mouse on the thread. One swipe and they could be gone, but that wasn't true in the slightest. Too bad for a couple of interns along the way though that thought if they flirted with her enough they could be Stark's new employee of the month. Boy, were they sadly mistaken and thrown out of their internship so quickly by her father.

Becca finally pulled the sunglasses away from her face as the two entered the conference room which held Pepper and Obadiah, Obi, Stane. Obi stood by the windows that stretched across the entire wall, looking out into California scenery that was still apart of Stark Industries. His hands were placed against his hips, a dark look present across his face. What really took her back was Pepper who sat at the table, elbows pressed against the glass so she could rest her hands against her mouth; eyes filled with fear.

At the sound of the door shutting behind her, the two immediately straightened up to look at Happy, but more importantly her. "What's going on?" The question left Becca's throat for what seemed the thousandth time in the last hour. "Where's my dad?" This wasn't right, whenever she was in this office her dad would be there. There is no other point for her to be there.

"Becca…please take a seat." Obi spoke to the young woman, turning towards her with soft eyes. She had known the older man her entire life, and he had always been easy-going with her despite his hard exterior.

"Why won't anyone tell me what's happening!" Her voice bellowed through the stiff room, no doubt being heard out in the hallway. Her calm demeanor that she had all morning practicing was slipping away and replaced by pure irritation. "Someone needs to tell me right now what's going on! Where's my dad?"

Pepper stood up, smoothing out of the wrinkles in her skirt. "Becca, sweetie…come here." She walked over to her, holding a hand out for her to take. The young Stark cautiously took her hand, letting the woman lead her to a seat at the head of the long stable. "I need you to remember to breath. Okay?"

Becca gave a little nod, anxiety in her eyes as she looked up at Pepper. Obi grabbed one of the remotes at the table, while Happy continued to stand at guard by the door. She felt her heart drop to her stomach at the sight that came across the TV screen placed on the wall across from her. Her father sat in the middle of the screen, strapped to the chair and being held at gunpoint by heavily armed men who wore layers upon layers to disguise their identity.

Her tear welling eyes glanced over her father's body seeing blood and dirt across his face. The most prominent thing was the giant white bandage spread over his chest where she could see what she assumed was blood seeping through the folds. Tony merely sat there, staring past the camera as the one man in the front continued to read off the parchment in his hands. It wasn't English so she couldn't understand it, but she assumed whatever it read wasn't good.

"Who are they?" Becca's voice was scratchy, eyes not leaving the screen.

"They're called Ten Rings." Obi explained, pausing the video so they could talk without the noise in the background. "And…and they're holding your father hostage for ransom."

"Terrorists?" She glanced from Obi to Pepper.

Pepper nodded her head, letting her hand gently rub her shoulders. "They attacked the convoy he was in during the equipment presentation."

"Well what do they want?" Her lip shook, trying to hold the tears back. "Just give them what they want. I don't care. Get him back!"

"It's not that easy, Rebecca." Obi spoke over her, hands coming to rest against his hips. "We have no idea where they even are."

"What about Uncle Rhodey?" Becca's mind was working overload. "Wasn't he with him? Is he okay?"

"He's okay, sweetie." Pepper answered. "He is searching as we speak for your dad."

"So what do we do? How do we get him back?" She felt like she was about to have an panic attack.

Obi grunted out a sigh of aggravation of the situation, a hand coming to scrub across his forehead. "Look, Rebecca I know how upset you are-"

"No you don't." She shook her head, looking at the older man crossly. "You have no idea what I'm feeling right now." The room became quiet, no one knowing how to move along. "Excuse me." Becca whispered, jumping up in her chair. She ignored all their calls from behind her and stalked out of the room. She kept her head down, trying to ignore everyone's glances. But as soon as the door of her father's office closed behind her the tears streamed down her face. She barely caught the lock as her body slid to the floor. She felt like she was going to be sick as the desperation, worry, and even guilt washed over her body.

All that continued to run through her head as she sobbed on the carpet was that she didn't give him a real goodbye before he had left the day before. She was stupidly holding a grudge over the senseless reporter, and now she had no idea if she would ever be able to speak to him again. He was all she had. The only family that she had to love.

Despite their differences, and there were many, she loved her father and all she ever wanted was to make him proud. She wanted to hug him and tell him she loved him. She wanted so many things that she might never get back to her. It was selfish at best, something of the Stark blood that definitely ran through her veins.

Becca looked around the room, tears still spilling from her eyes, trying to find something to settle her nerves in the large office. Her eyes settled on the pictures he had framed on his hutch on the right side of the room. The whole second row was completely devoted to her. Some of her dancing, other were school pictures, but the one in the middle was the two of them at her 10th birthday party. Say what you want about Tony Stark, but he certainly loved his daughter to death.

* * *

**_May 2008_ **

She took her final curtsy, the lights shining bright down on her and the crowd cheering loudly in the background. But to Becca, everything was on autopilot. Her ears were ringing with static as her eyes attempted to look out into the darkened faces in front of her. All she wished was for him to stand up. He would stand there obnoxiously clapping the loudest with his voice booming over everyone, announcing "That's my girl!" But he wasn't there. And she didn't know if she'd ever hear him again.

Becca exited the stage, following the other dancers back to their prep area. There were congratulations and smiles with hugs thrown all around. She had to admit the performance did go exceptionally well. And everyone was ready for summer break after the insanity that had been the last two months.

"You've got quite the praise over at your station." A blonde girl made her way to Becca's side. Her name was Eve and had become the closet person to Becca after her now two years together at Julliard.

"What are you talking about?" she questioned her friend.

Eve took a hold of the shorter girl's arm and drug her across the room. To Becca's defense, everyone was short compared to the long legged blonde beauty. Becca's eyes widened at the sight of multiple bouquets of different flowers displayed on her vanity.

"Someone's got a few admirers." Eve leaned down, smelling one vase of red roses. "Who are they from?"

The young Stark pulled out the cards seeing Pepper, Obi, Happy, and other Stark employees. All of them said something congratulatory with a deep sadness underlining their messages. "Family." But her favorite was the bouquet in the back that held multi-colored hydrangeas. She didn't need to read the card to know who this one was from, but a real soft smile fell against her lips.

' _Proud is an understatement.' – R_

She knew it was from her Uncle Rhodey and what took her even by more surprised that he had remembered. She hadn't seen him in months but was able to have a few phone calls with him periodically. But all his focus has been on finding her father and his best friend.

"Your fam here?" Becca asked, finally sitting down in her seat to take her shoes off.

Eve nodded, pulling her own off. "Little bro is probably running around trying to see a naked girl."

Becca chuckled. "He's going to grow up as such a ladies' man."

"God, I hope not. He's always going to be too young to date." The Blonde pulled the millions of bobby pins out of her hair.

"Rebecca! Just the girl I wanted to see." Their instructor, Ms. Gabbert, appeared beside the girls. "Amazing job tonight, ladies!"

"Thanks, Ms. G. Couldn't have done it without a great teacher though." Eve buttered up.

The older women rolled her eyes. "Stop sucking up, Evelyn. You passed with flying colors."

The blonde clapped happily. "Welp, my job is done here." Eve jumped off the chair and walked over to her vanity.

"That girl is quite the handful." Ms. Gabbert smirked at the retreating girl.

"Yeah, but no one can do it like Eve." Becca started pulling her own hair out of the up-do.

Ms. Gabbert could hear the dejection in the girl's voice as she looked back over at her. "You really did do an amazing job tonight." She looked over all the flowers. "Other's clearly thought so as well. Any of your family around here so I could gush about you too?"

Becca laughed at the comment, but shook her head. "No, I didn't invite anyone."

"Why not?" The teacher took a seat in the chair Eve had left. "This was a big moment for you."

The brunette looked down, playing with the pins. "I didn't want any of them to see it before my dad could."

Ms. Gabbert nodded her head as it all clicked into place now why one of her best students wasn't celebrating like the rest of them. The whole world new about the kidnapping of Tony Stark, but she was very surprised at how in control Becca had acted during the past few months. The young Stark was never a person to slouch through rehearsals, but now she had stepped up ever further. She didn't know if that was healthy or making her worse. "Well he is going to be so proud of you when he does finally get to see it."

Becca looked back up to her with a soft smile. She was happy that for once someone didn't try to make her sit through their sorry's. "Thanks, Ms. G."

"So, I really did come over her for a reason, not just to hype you up." She joked, happy to see her student laughing. "I actually have an opportunity for you this summer. That is, if you're interested."

"What is it?"

"So, I'm in charge of the summer student program this year. You might have heard talks about it around the school." She continued as she watched the girl nod in understanding. "Well I have the option of a part-time student helper with my classes and I was wondering if you wanted to spend the summer in NYC and get some experience under your belt."

"Seriously!?" Becca's brown eyes widened in bliss.

"Seriously. It would start in June and go through August. It's part-time so I would only need you a few hours during the day with weekends off. You'll get paid and you'll get to spend a full summer in the city when you are young and 21."

She couldn't believe the offer. It was honestly something out of a dream. And it was a vision of hers. She had grown up in New York, but her father had moved them to the west coast not long after he was given over the Stark business. It made sense for him to be where the headquarters were located. She always wanted to go back to New York, California never feeling like home to her. When she was accepted into Juilliard it felt like her own dreams were finally becoming reality.

But now as her instructor and an idol to her was giving her more opportunities, she was hesitating. California might not have been her home, New York didn't hold that full title yet, but her father…her father had held home with him her entire life. And right now her home was taken from her.

Ms. Gabbert must have noticed the hesitation written in her eyes. "Becca, you don't have to answer me right now. I know it's a big step and you should definitely take your time to think about it. But also, just remember to not hold yourself back…anything could happen at any minute. Don't stop living."

The young girl nodded, letting those words sink into her thoughts. "Thank you, Ms. G. I'll let you know soon."

The teacher stood up, giving her one last soft smile. "I know you will, Becca. Great job again tonight. You were a star up there." She squeezed Becca's shoulder before heading off to mingle with other students and faculty.

Becca quickly changed back into her street clothes and gathered as much of her items as she could. She pulled her bag over her shoulder and grabbed the vase of hydrangeas, it would be easier to get the rest of her items the next day when she cleared out for the semester. Waving goodbye to some of the friends she had made, Becca shouldered her way out of the stage door to finally leave. She was quickly stopped though by a middle aged gentlemen decked out in a black suit.

"Rebecca Stark?" He stopped in front of her, halting her movements.

"Can I help you?" She rose an eyebrow in question. There were other people walking about so she wasn't too worried about the strange fellow, but it was still abnormal.

"I'm Agent Phil Coulson and I'm with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." He smiled at her softly at the dumbfounded expression she held at the words that rambled out of his mouth. But he was use to people's reactions by now. "We go by S.H.I.E.L.D. for short."

"That might be better for everyone involved." She mused. "But look if this has anything to do with my father, no comment. It was nice to meet you Agent Coulson, but I don't know anything. Sorry." Becca started to walk past him, but he was present by her side again.

"I'm assuming you never heard of us before."

"You assumed correctly."

"That's not completely surprising, but given who you are…"

She stopped suddenly, turning to him in question. "Should I know who you are? Because I'm sorry I don't know what I could possibly have to help you with, sir."

"No, my apologies, miss." Agent Coulson held a hand to his chest in sincerity. "We are just another organization that is trying to find the place of your father."

"Look, sir, I'm sure you are who you say you are, but I have to be cautious of myself right now and my family." She switched the place of the vase in her arms. "I've had plenty of people come up to me the past few months and saying they are trying to help find my father, but in reality they just want a great story they can blasts across the news. So you have to understand where I'm coming from right now."

"I understand, Rebecca. And you have every right to be guarded." Agent Coulson pulled a small white rectangle out of his pocket. "Here's my card. Do your research, whatever you would like to do, but know we are here to help."

"Well, thank you." She accepted the card and continued walking away, this time he didn't follow after her. She was simply exhausted; mentally and physically. She thought once this performance was over that she would feel a weight released from her shoulders, but it was still there.

As if the world knew her hands were full and she didn't feel like talking to anyone else for the evening, her phone began ringing obnoxiously loud in her pocket. With a heavy groan, Becca set her flowers down on one of the tables that was stationed around the school and pulled the device from her pocket. She wanted to ignore it so badly, but seeing Pepper's name across the screen answering it was a must.

"Hey, Pepper." Her voice came out as a soft sigh, hoping to sound a little enthusiastic. "Perfect timing, the performance just ended."

And just like that, with the statement flowing through her end of the phone, Becca almost felt her knees drop out from under her.

"Becca…they found him."

* * *

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

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	3. Tiny Dancer

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Tiny Dancer - Caroline Glaser

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

I've fallen deep in love with this story again, and I hope you guys do too!

* * *

****

**Tiny Dancer**

_Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand_

_And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand_

_Hold me closer tiny dancer_

_Count the headlights on the highway_

_Lay me down in sheets of linen_

_You had a busy day today_

"Are you nervous?"

Becca looked over to her right, where Pepper stood a bit taller than her in her black heels. "I think I'm going to puke." The redhead humored her lightly with a shake of the head. She may have tried to seem calm, cool, and collected, but Becca could see right through it.

As soon as Becca got the call about her father she actually took up the Stark personal jet and headed straight to California. And now a day later here they stood on the track of the US Air Force hanger. Patiently waiting for the plane to land. There were personnel and authorities stationed every way she looked; either doing their job or taking special precautions. Happy stood a few feet behind herself and Pepper, next to the company car. And it made Becca feel a tad bit more under control seeing him with a soft smile on his face.

She could hear the intercom from the few security teams next to her say 'preparing for landing' and that was when she nearly broke out of her skin. Becca looked up in her horizon to see the gray airline gliding towards them. The few minutes it took for them to land and proceed to backup into the spot was nothing compared to the hellish wait it was for any sort of movement coming from inside of the plane.

All the noise fell around as the back finally started to drop and Becca's eyes focused in on the man sitting at the base. Rhodey carefully helped Tony stand from the wheel chair, letting the injured man grab onto his arm to help him walk down the gate. Tony looked for the most part alright, dressed in his suit with just a sling keeping his right arm in place. And that's when Becca nearly drowned in her own tears again.

Once the family's eyes met, she took off towards him, carefully launching herself in her father's arms. She couldn't help the sobs that racked her body, her face pressed against his neck. Tony wrapped his good arm around her the best he could, holding his baby girl as close to him as possible. He never thought he would be able to hold her, see her, just be able to love her again.

"I love you, baby girl. I love you so much." Tony's voice whispered deep in her ear. Trying to keep this moment as private as possible between the two.

"I love you too, daddy." This twenty-year-old girl turned back into a first grader again, so happy at seeing him again after the first day of school. Becca felt something hard poking at her collarbone from the middle of his chest, but wasn't fazed at that moment.

He rested his hand in her hair, pulling her head closer so he could hush her with a kiss against Becca's temple. She pulled away, remembering they weren't alone in their own home. Becca rubbed harshly at her eyes, trying to rid away the tears that were built up behind her eyes. Tony pulled her under his arm, pressing another kiss to her forehead, as they started walking.

"Oh, are you kidding me with this?" Tony raised an eyebrow at the medics how had wheeled over a stretcher. "Get rid of it." Rhodey motioned for the two medics to push the cart away, letting his friend make the call. They continued walking until the two Starks stood in front of Pepper. "Your eyes are red. Few tears for your long, lost boss?"

"Tears of joy." Pepper remarked back with a soft smile. "I hate job hunting."

"Yeah, vacations over." And just like that, the Tony Stark they all knew, and loved, was back. He moved around his assistant with Becca still tucked under his arm. "Happy, hope you've kept all the cars running smoothly."

"Always the best for you, sir." Happy nodded, trying to keep the overwhelming smile they were all feeling concealed from his face.

"Alright, let's go." Tony and Becca hopped in the back of the car, while Pepper sat in the passenger seat next to Happy.

"Where to, sir?" Happy asked.

"Take us to the Hospital please, Happy." Pepper spoke up for him.

"No." Tony rejected that answer.

"No?" Both girl's in the car spoke up, looking at him as if he was crazy.

"No is a complete answer."

Pepper turned herself full around in her seat to look at him. "Tony, you have to go to the hospital. The doctor has to look at you."

"I don't have to do anything." Becca and Happy looked at each other through the rearview mirror as the two bickered as usual. "I've been in captivity for three months. There are three things I want to do. I want an America cheeseburger, I want to be with my daughter, and the other…"

"That's enough of that." Pepper sighed, automatically thinking of his sexual exploits.

"…is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference, now."

"Call for a press conference?"

"Yeah."

"What on earth for?"

Tony ignored her further questions. "Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first." Once they took off, he smiled at Becca, so happy to see her. She grinned happily back, carefully moving over in her seat so she could lean back under his arm. This was the Tony Stark no one outside of their little family got to see. And that family included Pepper, Rhodey and Happy. "I missed your recital."

"It's okay. It's no big deal." She sighed, feeling the warmth radiating off of him.

"It's a huge deal. I should have been there." Tony rubbed her arm. "Did you at least record it?"

Becca nodded her head. "I also thought I give you a live performance."

"Sounds perfect."

The car stopped through the Burger King drive-thru, quickly ordering Tony's burgers and Becca's splurge of a large French fry. Hey, it was summer, she aced all her classes, she deserved a bit of a reward. As they drove into Stark Industries, the first thing they took notice of was dozens of employees stationed around the front parking circle, all clapping in celebration of their boss' return.

Obi was the head of the welcoming party, arms spread wide with a giant smile placed over his face. "Look at this!" His voice boomed over the cheers, stalking over to open Tony's door for him, grabbing him into a hug automatically. "We were going to meet at the hospital."

"No, I'm fine." Tony brushed his injuries off.

Becca walked around the car with Happy who held her father's extra burger. She had polished off her grease filled fries easily. The group effortlessly walked through the masses, Becca and Pepper staying a few steps back. As they found their way back through the building, media and press were already set up in a large group in the lobby.

"Becca." Tony stopped, looking back at his daughter with a hand stretched out to her.

"What?" Her eyes widened in confusion at what was going on.

"Come on." He motioned for her to continue with him. Her eyes widened at the request, but did as she was asked. Camera's flashed brightly in her face as the two walked through the crowd following behind Obi. She would have much preferred staying in the back next to Pepper's side, her usual spot during press conferences, but she didn't want to disappoint her father.

"Okay, let's get started." Obi spoke from behind the platform.

Tony had other ideas though, sitting down on the few steps in the front, allowing his back to lean against the wooden podium. "Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down?" He pulled another burger from his coat pocket. "Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can…" The press did as they were asked. Becca sat next to her father on the steps, not knowing where he was going with this. "A little less formal." Obi sat on the other side of him. "Good to see you."

"Good to see you too." Obi smiled, pressing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I never got to say goodbye to Dad." Tony's statement got Becca's surprised attention if anything. He never talked about her grandfather. "I never got to say goodbye to my father." He told their audience, before looking at Becca. "And I didn't want the same fate to happen to my own daughter."

She nodded, feeling emotional all over again. It was very rare to see him open up like this, especially in front of other people.

"There's questions that I would have asked him." Tony continued, finally putting the burger down. "I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels." The room was deadly silent; the only sound was a few flashes going off every once in a while. "I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

"Mr. Stark!" A few of the reports called, but the one younger man in the front that he had familiarity with gained his attention.

"Hey, Ben."

"What happened over there?"

It was a question that Becca herself had and wanted to ask. She knew everyone was still keeping her in the dark about certain specifics that had happen, and she desperately just wanted a few answers.

"I had my eyes open!" Tony's voice gained power, enough power to lift him to his feet and put him on the right side of the podium. "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International-" the crowd erupted to their own feet, voices yelling questions, "until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be."

Becca honestly couldn't hear the rest of his statement as she sat shell shocked on the steps. This was one of Stark Industries biggest exports. If not half of the entire company itself. She jumped out of her stone stance, seeing her father walking back through the crowd. She pushed herself off the steps to follow him, the crowd still shouting loudly as Obi attempted to calm their questions. He continued to walk out of the building, leaving her to stand in between an equally dazed looking Pepper and Rhodey.

"What the hell is he doing?" Rhodey asked, looking down at the girl he associated as his own niece.

"You really think I have a clue about anything that goes through my father's head?" Becca crossed her arms tight against her chest.

"Pepper?"

"Oh, don't look at me." Pepper shook her head, her ponytail bouncing back and forth. "I know even less than her."

Becca looked back through the crowd, watching as it started to fizzle out. One face grabbed her attention in the sea of them all. It was the agent she had met a few nights ago. He was certainly persistent if nothing else.

A few more hours of tenacious 'how are you' and questions later, the two Starks had made their way back home thanks to Happy. The family trudged through the front door, Tony pushing the button to turn on the lights in the large living room.

"Welcome home, sir." Jarvis greeted him immediately.

"Thank you kindly, Jarvis." Tony responded, pulling the tie off his neck. The sling had been removed some hours ago, really doing nothing to help anymore.

Becca walked towards the coffee table, finding more presents have been added since she was home that morning. They were a bit extravagant for her taste.

"It's been a long time." Jarvis' voice echoed through the white walls. "Based on news reports, I calculated your safe return at 0.25%."

"Yep, I missed you too." Tony sat down on one of the wooden stools to look over everything that was laid out.

"I'm going to go get changed really quick, do you need anything?" Becca asked, finally pulling off the obnoxious sweater that had been restricting her movements all day.

"No, I'm good sweetheart."

Becca ran upstairs to her room to throw on some more comfortable clothing. She stopped in the kitchen, putting together a pot of coffee. She could hear her father talking to Jarvis about deleting all of the emails he had missed the past few months. It really hadn't processed in her that he might have never came home. But he did, and that's the thought she planned on focusing on.

"What are you doing, Bec?"

Her concentration broke at the sound of her father's voice entering the kitchen. "Making some coffee." She cleared her throat, pulling two mugs down from the cabinet.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Who said I made it for you?"

Tony couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. Becca poured the two cups, handing one to her dad who liked it black, while she added her specific creamer that she liked. As Becca finally really looked over him, she could make out a light blue glow coming through his shirt in the center of his chest. Exactly where she had felt the hardness earlier when she hugged him.

"What's on your chest?" Her soft voice broke the silence.

Tony's eyes found hers before looking down at him. He carefully set the mug on the granite countertop. "What were you told?"

"A whole lot of nothing." She sighed. "They told me your convoy was attacked and you were taken hostage."

He nodded, walking towards her. "As I was trying to run away from the area a missile landed next to me and exploded." He didn't want her to worry or freak out because he did make it out alive, narrowly. But she deserved to know what happen. "There was a doctor there, Yinsen, who worked on me. He removed the shrapnel from my chest…but couldn't get all of it. So, I have to wear this."

Becca's eyes widened at the round device that was implanted in his chest. "That's keeping you alive?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It's keeping the shrapnel away from my heart."

"So, basically, if for some reason that decided to stop working you'd be dead." Her eyes glazed over.

"Becca, don't think like that-"

"I have to think like that!" Her fingers pushed through her brown hair. "How many times do I have to worry about losing you? I can't do this again." Her tears fell again. She was a relatively emotionally stable person. She could usually hold herself together quite well. But this was all becoming too much.

"Hey…" Tony took his daughter in his arms, "I'm okay. I'm not going anywhere again all right? You're stuck with me." He kissed her head. "And people think I'm the more emotional mess of the family."

Becca laughed at his sarcasm and pushed him away. "Shut up." A smile graced her face as she wiped her tears away.

"Enough about me. What'd I miss with you?" Tony picked up his forgotten coffee.

"That's a first." She joked back. Their relationship quickly falling back into place. "I don't know, the usual. School, dancing, exams."

"You passed all your classes?"

"Mhmm." Sipping her own steaming mug. "Actually, my instructor, Ms. Gabbert said it was my best performance yet." He gave her a crooked smile, that sadness evident in his eyes but she wasn't going to comment on it. It wasn't his fault he wasn't there. "She um…she actually offered me a job."

"Really? Becca that's awesome!"

"Yeah, it's just this little part-time position at Juilliard, but it will get my foot in the door." She grinned thinking of the opportunity.

"Well, when does it start?"

"Well…I didn't say yes yet."

Tony nearly choked on the scalding liquid at her statement. "Why not?"

"Because it would mean the summer in New York!"

"…so?"

"But you just got home! I can't leave you already." Her excuses continued.

"Honey, I'm a big boy. I can survive on my own." She rose an eyebrow at his statement. "Okay, Pepper will be here to tie my shoes when I can't. You have to take this opportunity, Becca. And don't let me stop you. Who knows I could be kidnapped again tomorrow."

"Dad!"

"Okay, too soon for jokes." Tony raised his hands in defense. "You're going to call her first thing tomorrow morning and accept."

"Is that an order?" She rolled her eyes.

"Your damn right it is!" His hand slapped the counter in finality. "Jarvis."

"Yes, sir." The AI program answered.

"Start a collection of apartments available in Manhattan to Midtown."

"Will do, sir."

"Dad…" She scrubbed a hand across her eyes at what he was doing.

"What! You're going to be working in New York and going to be 21. No more dorm living. If this is what you want, we're going to set you up."

* * *

"I'm starting to regret this decision."

Becca rolled her eyes at her father's statement before dropping another box on her new mattress. "You know, a week ago you were all for this."

"And then I put two and two together." He looked out the window of her small, humble apartment. "You're too young to be living on your own."

"Oh, Tony leave the poor girl alone." Pepper called from her spot in the kitchen where she was unpacking.

"You're telling me you're fine with this?" Tony walked towards the redhead, eyebrows raised. "She's a kid, living on her own in New York-"

"This kid has been living here for two years now, thank you." Becca followed him, passing by to help Pepper.

Pepper sighed. "I'm saying that Becca is an adult, who is living out her dreams." She stepped up behind the younger girl, hugging her close against her chest. "Don't you want your beautiful daughter to live her dreams?"

"Yeah, dad. Don't you want me to live my dreams?" Becca gave her father a big pout as she leaned back into Pepper, holding her forearms.

All Tony could do was stand there, arms crossed, the bright blue light from arc reactor in his chest shining bright. He was trying to hold his guard up, be the tough parent for once, but Becca's giant puppy dog expression was getting the best of him. "You're too much for me sometimes." He has been and always will be wrapped around his daughter's finger.

She smiled brightly, bouncing out of Pepper's arms to give her father a big kiss on the cheek. "Love you, daddy."

"Maybe you should keep Happy here with you." Holding her at arm's length.

"Dad, no."

"I would feel more comfortable."

"Dad, please!" She spoke over her father. "I'm going to be fine. And God knows you're going to be having eyes on me like you have the past two years."

Tony stayed quiet for a second trying to come up with a good enough lie but couldn't think of anything. "You have no proof."

They continued unpacking the apartment, well mostly Pepper and Becca unpacking and Tony trying to help but really being for the most part useless. The apartment was modest in Becca's liking. Tony had kept bringing up the outlandish apartments for her to call home, but this was the one she wanted. It was a small one-bedroom apartment between Hell's Kitchen and the Upper West Side that Becca fell in love with immediately.

But by the time the day was coming to a close it felt like the first time the two brought Becca to college and getting ready to leave her again.

"Alright, I think you're about set." Pepper set aside the last box of books that Becca had yet to unpack.

Becca stood up from her spot on the floor in front of small TV cabinet where she was putting her movies away. "Okay. Thanks again Pepper."

"Of course, sweetie."

"Alright, you're not staying here." Tony came back in from the bedroom where he was doing whatever it was he was doing. "I swear I just witnessed a drug bust go on down the street."

"Pepper." Becca groaned, knowing she would understand the need immediately in her voice.

"Alright, Tony. We have to get going." The older women started gathering their items.

"Why, I'm supposed to be laying low for now anyways. Not like I got some crazy night planned out back in California."

Pepper rolled her eyes and brought Becca into a tight hug. "Have fun sweetie. Good luck with the job, I know you'll do great."

"Thanks, Pepper. For everything." She gave her a big smile. "I'll let you know how it goes." She turned to her father who was pacing, hands behind his back. "I'm staying, Dad. I know you want me to also, and I promise I'll be okay. Just trust me."

"It's not that I don't trust you, Becca." He shook his head, finally looking at her. "It's the fact that I don't trust other people."

She had never seen so much doubt in her father's eyes until he came back from captivity. And that was the exact reason she didn't want to leave him in the first place, but there was only so much she could do before she needed to start living her own life.

Becca walked over and gave her father a big hug. Holding tightly until she finally felt his own arms wrap around her. "I love you, daddy."

He let out a relieving breath, feeling some of the weight that has been on his shoulders. "I love you too, baby girl."

* * *

She had felt eyes on her back nearly the whole day. The only time it had stopped was when she was working in the studio. Every time she turned her head to look behind her nothing seemed out of order. Well as much as out of order you could in New York. So, to be honest, by the time she was heading home that evening she was a little on edge.

She found safety once she entered her building. She stepped up to her mailbox. Becca dug through the mostly junk mail as a man a few years older than her entered the building, following the same procedure as she did. He gave her a soft smile as they made eye contact but the two continued with their own work.

Becca locked her mailbox and started her journey up the stairs. The sound of footsteps behind her grabbed her attention, seeing the man had started up the steps of his own. She didn't think anything of it until he started getting closer. As she went faster, he went faster. She started taking two steps at a time, so did he. She was running up the last few flights trying to get away from him, but felt like she was getting nowhere. Becca finally made it to her floor, getting her keys ready to make a quick break to her apartment.

She refused to look over her shoulder, knowing that would slow her down. She pushed her keys into the door, getting it open quick enough, but she wasn't fast enough to close it on him. The man was able to get his body through the crack that was still open. His larger weight had him easily throwing the door open, pushing her body to the ground.

"Oh, come on Rebecca." His voice was deep, closing the door shut and locking it.

She scrambled up to her feet, running into kitchen. Before she could make of a getaway he was able to catch her ankle with his foot, throwing her body to the ground again. Her head made an angry crack with a cabinet, tilting her whole world around. She shook off the pain that was making her eyes cross-eyed and turned to look at him.

He was looking down at her with a sick smile on his face, pulling a small gun out of the back of his jeans. She looked above her, grabbing one of the knives that sat on her counter. She knew it wouldn't do much against a gun but it was something to protect herself.

"This will be fun."

As those words left his mouth, the living room window smash. A body came rolling through the window right after it. Before the man standing above her was able to turn around, the person who came crashing into the apartment had sent an arrow straight through his throat.

Becca's eyes widened in even more terror as she watched her attacker drop the gun, gasping for breath the wouldn't come and drop to his own knees. He fell face first, becoming motionless on the ground. Becca starred at the body in front of her wide-eyed. She couldn't catch her breath, feeling almost like she was about to have a panic attack at any moment.

"You okay?" The suspicious man crouched beside her, gently laying his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes finally found his and quickly shuffled away from him; her back slamming against the opposite wall. "I'm going to take that as a no."

She didn't realize the knife was still sitting in her palm until she was holding it up to him in a dangerous manner. "Get away from me."

The older man raised his hands in defense. "Woah, easy there, kid. I just saved your ass."

"And how did you know I even needed saving?" She was trying to keep her voice strong, but the fear and tears started clouding it. "Who are you?"

"My name's Clint, I work for SHIELD." He could see her eyes focus softly at the organization name. "You've heard of it?" She simply nodded her head once, the knife still very much pointed at him. "I've been looking after you for a while now, making sure you were protected."

"Protected from what?" Her eyes glancing quickly to the man before staring back at him.

He shook his head with a sigh. "That's a question you'll need to address our Director. I should probably get you to the administration now."

Clint's movements to stand only had Becca hold the knife tighter. "Why should I go with you?"

The man's head fell to his chest, while his hands took place on his slim hips. "Look, kid, I know you have no real knowledge on whether to trust me or not, but I can promise you my only mission right now is to keep you safe. And this guy," he pointed to the body lying on her kitchen floor, "might not be working alone. So, I've got to get you to safety."

Becca stared down at the dead body, well she assumed he was dead. And all she could think about was who he was and why he wanted to kill her in the first place. Her brown eyes glanced back up to Clint, nodding at him in understanding.

"Okay…good, so I'm going to take this." He hesitantly slid the knife out of her hand, setting it back on the counter. He pulled out of his phone, dialing a number and bringing it to his ear. That's when she really looked over Clint. He was dressed in dark clothing, clearly to hide himself but could still look relatively normal in New York. But what she really took notice of was the crossbow that was still sitting in his left hand. "Yeah, it's Barton. Tell Fury I'm bringing her in."

She seemed to move on autopilot as Clint moved her out of the apartment and into a car that was waiting for them on the curb. All she could see in her head was the dead man that was still lying on kitchen floor. They parked downtown in front of a large building that had no real markings on the outside. As they walked through the doors there were a bunch of people dressed in usual business garb. They continued up a few levels and Becca just followed behind with big eyes.

Clint finally opened a heavy door at the end of a hallway, allowing her to enter before him. She entered, finding a big office with a man standing behind the desk, staring out the windows to the usual commission of New York City below them.

"Rebecca Stark. Thanks for coming." He said, still not turning to her.

She looked at Clint confused, but he just led her to the chairs that sat in front of the desk. "It's not like I had much of a choice." She sighed, taking a seat on one of the chairs. Clint however didn't sit next to her, and stood in the back, arms crossed.

"You always have a choice." He finally turned to her, allowing her to see he had a patch over one eye. "I'm Nick Fury. Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I would say it's nice to meet you, but right now all I can think about is the guy that just tried to kill me a few minutes ago."

"That is being taken care of as we speak. Your apartment will be back to normal by the time we're done here." He nodded.

"And my plagued dreams?" Her sarcasm slipping out.

"Well I'm sure we can get you a psychiatric physician. But I don't know how much it will do being a Stark." He quipped right back at her.

She snorted at the comment. "Can you explain to me why someone was trying to kill me? Or why crossbow back here has been watching me?"

"You have a legacy in your family, Rebecca." Director Fury explained, his hands folded neatly behind his back.

"I'm quite aware of the brand that has been stamped across my forehead since I was born." Becca's fingers tapped anxiously against the arm rest of her chair.

"Do you?" He turned to look at her with his one good eye. "How much do you know about the power that your last name holds in this world?"

"My grandfather created Stark Industries."

"Your grandfather did a lot more for this world besides Stark Industries." Fury looked down at her. "Howard Stark was a co-founder and creator of S.H.I.E.L.D. And he wanted to pass down that legacy to you."

* * *

Our favorite Archer is here to stay!

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR MY REBECCA!**


	4. All At Once

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

All at Once - John The Ghost

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

I have the story planned out to Infinity War and there's so much I'm excited for I wish it would all just come out already!

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**All at Once**

_And I don't want to take over the world_

_Just wanna know where I belong within it_

_Been fighting myself in a phone booth for days now_

_t's just so hard to tell which side is winning_

_This is all at once_

Becca sat on her living room floor; papers spread out across her coffee table, laptop set up in the corner, and TV on across from her playing the news. It had been two weeks since she was attacked and if that didn't have her world spinning on its axis, she also found out her name held high importance in an organization unknown to her. And when she wasn't working at the dance studio she was learning everything she could about S.H.I.E.L.D. Her grandfather, Howard Stark, was co-founder alongside Chester Phillips and Peggy Carter. This secret organization was founded in the wake of the victory over HYDRA, the terrorist-criminal-paramilitary organization, in World War II. Director Fury had given her mountains of paperwork and basically history books to regulate her into this new world.

Her concentration had been broken earlier that morning as the news flashed across her screen of an explosion that had happen last night at Stark Industries. There was also talk about a covert 'Iron Man' they were calling him, who mysteriously had the same chest plate that her father had. Coincidence? Becca didn't think so. This wasn't exactly the message she wanted to wake up to first thing on your 21st birthday, more importantly when she couldn't get in contact with her father, uncle Rhodey or Pepper. But when she did finally get ahold of someone, poor Happy received the blunt of it.

"Why am I always the last person to know, Happy! Hmm! It's like you people do this to me on purpose!" Becca yelled at the man over the phone, her eyes not leaving the TV where they were getting ready for a press conference. "Let's see how much anxiety we can give Becca! I swear."

"Becca, please-"

"If you say calm down, Happy, I'm going to find a way to come through this phone and choke you." At the end of her empty threat, she heard a knock echo through her small apartment. She pulled herself off the floor and walked over to the door, still tearing into the poor man. She looked through the peephole, seeing Clint standing on the other side. Becca opened the door for him with a strained smile before walking away, letting him meander his own way through the door.

"Can I say something without you biting my head off?" Happy sighed.

Becca could basically see him rubbing a hand down his face. "Depends on if I like what comes out of your mouth next." She stood with one hand on her hip, listening to him but really paying attention to the news. She heard Clint snort at her comment as he comes into living room after pouring himself a cup of coffee. He had pretty much become a staple lately in her apartment ever since her attack.

"Tony's fine, Becca. He's alive and breathing." Hearing her calm down just for a moment knowing that. "Now, Rhodes is about to start the press conference. I promise to make sure your dad calls you immediately when it's done, alright?"

She ran her fingers through her straight hair that had become a frazzled mess from her constant gripping. "Okay."

"And Becca…happy birthday."

"Thanks, Happy." The blush rose to her cheeks as she finally hung up her phone. The cell phone landed with a dull thud on the paper covered table as Becca fell with a sigh on the couch next to Clint. "My family is a goddamn nightmare."

"That's the understatement of the year." Clint's deep voice rose from around his cup. "You're not so bad though."

She looked over at him with a cocked eyebrow, debating on how she should approach that comment. "I'm going to take that as a compliment."

Their relationship was a strange one, but surprisingly easy to be around each other. Clint told it like it was, no apprehension or setbacks in place. Just the straight forward truth, and she liked that the best about it. Since their meeting, every question she asked he had answered to the best of his ability and that's something she appreciated. Every day turned out to be the same. Becca would get her work done early at the dance studio with Ms. Gabbert before spending the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening with Clint helping to teach her the most he could of S.H.I.E.L.D. It was very easy to find a comradery between the two. But her favorite thing about him is that fact that he didn't treat her like a kid.

"Coulson is out there. He's supposed to be taking care of the situation." Clint leaned forward to lean on his bent knees, both of them watching Colonel James Rhodes take his place behind the podium.

"I think you all underestimate Tony Stark."

"Good Morning." Rhodes began speaking to the media. "You've all receive the official statement of what occurred at Stark Industries last night. There have been unconfirmed reports that a robotic prototype malfunctioned and caused damage to the arc reactor. Fortunately, a member of Tony Stark's personal security staff was there to assist the situation."

"Personal security staff?" Becca echoed, ridicule in her voice. "What a bunch of bullshit."

Clint rolled his eyes with a dark chuckle. "You know for someone who seems like a complete sweetheart you can sure be brash."

"It's my secret talent." She told him, barely listening to the lies that she knew Rhodes was spewing to the press. "So if Coulson is out there, do you know what's really going on?"

"Not entirely." He took another deep drink of his coffee, turning his body on the couch to face the girl with his leg coming to bend under him. "I know Coulson was supposed to be debriefing your father on S.H.I.E.L.D. but with last night's happenings he probably got sidetracked…again."

"Again?"

"Your father's not exactly the easiest person to have a meeting set up with and actually follow through. But I'm sure you know that."

Becca nodded, letting her fingers twist in her lap. "I just don't understand why we we've never told about S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place. Here's the secret organization that our name has a big part in yet we've been left in the dark."

"I wish I could explain that to you, Becca, but even I don't have an answer about that." Clint shrugged. He might be a level 7 agent but that didn't give him all the knowledge in the world. And this organization had been secrets and smoke screens that he couldn't he begin to explain.

Becca's attention returned back to her Uncle Rhodey. "And now, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement. He will not be taking any questions. Thank you." Watching Tony walk into view, Becca's shoulders finally relaxed at seeing her father in one piece.

"Been a while since I was in front of you. I figure I'll stick to the cards this time." Tony presented the stack of notecards in front of him. "There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop-"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark," and a hand shot up off screen, you couldn't see the person but Becca knew automatically from the voice that it was that reporter from Vanity Fair, "but do you honestly expect us to believe that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you-"

"I know that it's confusing." He cut her off, glaring down at the woman. "It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero."

"I never said you were a superhero."

"Didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and fantastic." He stalled, clearly overthinking things. "I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public..."

Rhodes stepped back into the screen to whisper something in Tony's ear before he continued. Tony nodded, raising the cards to continue reading. "The truth is…" Becca leaned forward in her seat, never seeing her father trying to bite his tongue. "I am Iron Man."

"Son of a bitch." Clint slammed his mug on the table, before jumping to his feet and grabbing his phone out of his pocket. It seemed that the two in that moment have changed roles, as he was now the one pacing with a phone stuck to his ear.

Becca felt like the couch gave out from under her. But it wasn't a surprise. The moment she saw the Iron Man chest plate she had the feeling in the back of her mind that it was her father underneath the metal. She loved her father, he was the number one person in her life, but she absolutely despised his egotistical side. And that was the side that was shining bright right now.

At the revelation, it seemed like a door opened in her mind. Her grandfather created this organization to help other, to make sure the people in this world were safe. And that's what she wanted to continue. He clearly wanted her to be part of this for a specific reason, and she was going to use all her power to continue Howard Stark's legacy.

"Fury's pissed." Clint broke her train of thought, coming to stand in front of the coffee table to grab her attention. "I have a very suspicious feeling he's going to go give your father a piece of his mind." He stood his with hands on his hips, something that Becca picked up early as a normal stance for the archer. "Becca…you listening to me."

"I'm in." She looked up at him with determination.

"In what?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm in." Becca stood up now to look at him. "Everything. Anything. I want to be a part. I'm in. But one thing." She held up a finger to him and then pointed at the TV. "My father, he will know nothing about this."

* * *

June 25th, 2008 on Rebecca Maria Starks 21st birthday was when her life officially changed.

Clint became Becca's official handler, mentor, and trainer. This wasn't something that S.H.I.E.L.D. usually did for newcomers. She should have gone to the training facility with the rest of the agents in training, but they had other ideas for Becca. If she thought just learning about S.H.I.E.L.D. was a world-wind she had no idea what was coming.

On top of working at the studio mornings, she was determined to give 110% every time she was at the headquarters. She had met multiple people over the first few days of officially joining, but she seemed to be getting the same response from everyone once Clint would mention her last name. It was a wide eyed stare and start to clam up around her. She had no power in this organization yet everyone began to fear her and it made her sick.

Clint seemed to take notice to the awkwardness that came out of the usually bubbly girl immediately. The first thing he ever picked up after spending time with Becca was her full hearted nature, always being nice to people. But once her last name was mentioned, a wall seemed to go up behind her eyes and she was stoic if anything. He knew at least he wasn't about to train an egomaniac; something it seemed her father possessed.

Everything started to really settle in when the actual preparation began.

If she thought her dancing regimen was intense, she hadn't experienced anything yet. She had never thrown a punch in her life or had one thrown at her. Martial Arts had mixed with interrogation then weapon training to so on and so on. Every time she thought she was getting the hang of something, he would throw something new in her preparation.

One good thing was that her body knew how to move on its own accord. She was flexible, quick on her feet, and had a type of grace in all her movements. That's something that Clint decided he was going to use to her advantage. Espionage became a top priority to tip her on.

Becca didn't question much on why Clint had picked himself to be her handler, but the one time she actually did open her big mouth she regretted instantly. Telling him she didn't need special treatment was the last time she would every question the archer's leadership again.

Becca fell back on her spine, the breath knocked out of her. She could already feel the bruise against her ribs screaming at her in agony.

"What? Was that too much for you, Stark?" Clint's words piercing sharper as he watched her lay there a second. "Does the princess need a break? Need a maid to come clean you up?" He knew his words were burning deep, but he knew his next statement was going to floor her. "Maybe you are your father after all."

A person 5 miles away could have seen the fire in her eyes at the statement. She pulled herself off the mat, staring her superior down with a clenched jaw. "I'm not my father."

"Then prove it, Becca. If you're not a Stark, who are you!"

Clint's voice boomed in their small practice room. Her body exploded into action. Jabs, kicks, punches were thrown. She whipped her body around Clint, using her quick movements to her advantage. Before long Clint was the one that found himself on the ground, catching his breath. Becca sucked in a deep breath, hands coming to rest on her knees.

"Bex." The older man spoke. His eyes not leaving the ceiling as if he was reading the word on the stucco.

"What?" She stood up fully, hands coming to rest on her hips.

"You don't want to be a Stark, you're Bex. Agent Bex."

And from then on she had become her own entity. She was no longer introduced around SHEILD as Stark. She was Agent Bex, one of their top priorities to get on track.

* * *

By the end of her first month training she had gotten use to the cold baths she was taking every night she got home from drill so she would be able to move her sore muscles the next day at the dance studio. Becca knew she had a lot on her plate but she wasn't a quitter. And if she couldn't handle this, how was she supposed to keep up when her school year began at the end of August.

Her father was the talk of the country, so she was able to slink back into the shadows. Nobody taking notice to what Rebecca Stark was up to in New York. Every time though Tony would ask how things were going she would simply leave it to being busy at work. Which wasn't a complete lie. This was how Coulson found his way back into Becca's life.

"We have a steady watch on your father. The next time he decides to blow something up…we'll know immediately."

Agent Coulson seemed to be Director Fury's right hand man. Which meant most agents were put under director order of him. Becca had the upmost respect for everyone she had met in this organization. And that definitely went for Agent Natasha Romanoff.

She had met the ex-Russian spy on a day that was unlike any others. Becca walked into the office Clint had set up in the headquarters. She had always asked him about the desk that sat opposite to him on who worked there since every time she went in it was unoccupied. His answer was always that she would find out eventually.

Becca had stopped short in the doorway, watching the two laugh over something they were talking about. The younger girl had never seen Clint at so much ease since she's met him, knowing that this woman clearly meant something to him.

"Sorry." She lifted her hands in apprehension, as both their eyes found her standing there. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, it's okay." Clint waved her into the office from where he was perched on the corner of his desk. "It's about time the two of you met."

At his introduction of the two girls, Becca couldn't help feeling inferior under the gaze of her dark green eyes. The spy was dangerously gorgeous with her fiery red hair falling over her shoulders, Becca felt like a bum next to her. If she was that pretty who knew how deadly Agent Romanoff's skills actually were.

"So…you're a Stark." It wasn't a question; it was more of Natasha gaging how the young trainee would handle the interrogation. Something that had Clint rolling his eyes.

"Not by choice, but I roll with the punches." Becca's arms locked together against her chest.

"She's going by Bex. Agent Bex when she level's up." Clint tried to help ease down his best friend. "She's good, Tasha. And is a dancer. Might give you a run for your money."

"Fuck you, Barton." Natasha threw back at him. "Fine, let's see what you got."

Agent Romanoff kicked her ass, anyone could see that from where they were standing. But she also didn't give up. That was what put Becca in her good graces. Don't give up. Don't complain. Keep your shit together. The saying should be printed on a banner in the assassins' office.

* * *

Weapons training wasn't even touched until she was 2 months in. Her first thing to learn was how to use her body as a weapon. And her mind had to be the most powerful weapon of them all. She had to be able to think on her feet; how to get in and out of situations. When to keep her mouth shut, how to get people to talk, spin situations, etc. There was so much work going into every little detail she was taught.

But walking into that equipment room on a hot August morning had her reeling about the amount of artillery she had to learn and also feel the brunt of. Becca had training in a bit of everything if she ever came across the weapon in her arsenal. Guns and knives seemed to be her weapons of choice with an influence more towards the blade.

Knives were one of the most lethal weapons. Just one small nick could be the death of someone; herself included.

Becca was good in gymnastics and acrobatics, so they started focusing her in sleuth espionage. The monkey if you will. It was easy for her to throw her body into tight spaces, slink around corners, and quietly get from one side of a building to another without being heard or seen. So knives were a good weapon of choice to hide all over her body.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Becca groaned into the phone at her father's question. "For the fifth time, I'm fine. Just really busy." She pushed herself into her apartment, completely spent from training that evening. On top of a long day of class as well.

"I'm just worried you are working too hard." Tony's voice grumbled over the line. "Don't want you to burn out before 25."

"Hilarious. Get in any fights lately, Iron Man?" She threw right back at him.

"Touché."

Yet, it was a lot, but she was quite proud of herself for being able to keep up. With school work, dance routines, training, and trying to keep a normal presence in her day to day life, Becca had even started going on Level 1 missions with Clint as back up.

That all changed though the first time she killed someone. It was 2 weeks before Christmas. She was off school which meant Becca had about 2 months to officially go into agent mode. It was her first big mission with Clint and Natasha both in action. They had been watching a big hot shot in Nepal for a while, and now was the time to proceed into action. Clint was on look out from the roof across from their targeted building. Natasha was taking the ground while Becca was starting on the roof. They were going to meet in the middle where the manufactures main lab was located. Everything was going as planned.

Until it went wrong.

Becca had gotten into the room first. It was empty and she immediately went to work on hacking into their systems to retrieve the information for S.H.I.E.L.D. Then she felt a body grab her from behind. From that point on everything became a blur. All she could really remember is standing over a man's bloody body as Natasha came barreling into the room. She knew her and Clint were talking back and forth in the in-ears but she didn't catch any of it.

Natasha finished the decoding and got the two of them out of the warehouse. All Becca could do was stare down at her bloody hands in disbelief as Clint got the three of them out of the scene in their jet. There was hushed whispers between her two mentors in the front, but she just couldn't concentrate on anything.

They didn't return to New York that night. Becca regained some attention as she looked out at the expansion of country side they had landed on. She grabbed her extra bag filled with a sense of normalcy that they would always bring along with them on each mission depending on how long it would take. Becca followed the two off of the jet, her eyes landing on the 2 story country house situated in the back of the field. She didn't say anything just followed, watching the sun slowly coming up over the tree line.

"You're safe here, Becca." Clint spoke softly in the morning light.

She simply nodded and continued following them down the path towards the house. He led her to one of the guest rooms on the second floor, telling her to get cleaned up. Becca set her bag on the bed looking over the country warmth filled room. It was the type of home she only ever saw in movies or TV shows. She took a long shower, watching as the man's blood swirled down the drain.

It was official. She had taken another human's life.

She knew that it was the consequence of the job, but you can't really prepare for it until you are actually in the situation. She pulled on a heavy sweatshirt and the yoga pants she found at the bottom of her bag. It wasn't as cold as New York and there wasn't snow on the ground, so she at least knew she was somewhere in the south.

A soft knock came from the door and she gently told them to come in, not trusting her voice. Natasha walked in, hair wet like her own and dressed in jeans. "Coffee is in the pot downstairs."

Becca nodded at her and ran her fingers through the wet strands of her hair.

Natasha closed the door, allowing her green eyes to read over the younger girl. "Do you want to talk about it?" Becca simply shrugged, not knowing what even to say. "Look, I'm not going to push you to open up or have a heart to heart. Just know the first kill is always the hardest. And you'll remember it for the rest of your life."

"How'd you deal with it?"

The redhead sighed, allowing herself to come sit next to her on the bed. "I went through a very different process than you are with S.H.I.E.L.D. Killing was almost a medal of honor with how I started." Natasha gave a sad smile to Becca. "You're in the right hands here. Clint has a lot of faith in you. And so do I. So cry it out, yell it out, do whatever you need to do. But just know we want you on our team if you still want to be here. It's all up to you."

Becca nodded, everything sinking in for her. The two girls took their time going downstairs, Becca looking over the house on her way. Becca was taken back by the woman standing in the kitchen, being held in Clint's arms.

"You two make me sick." Natasha commented on the couple, walking around them to grab her own coffee cup.

"It's okay, Nat. You'll find a guy that can deal with you one day." Clint snarked, letting go of the woman gently. His eyes found his young mentee hesitating in the doorway, arms once again wrapped around herself. He had noticed very early on that this was how she acted when she felt awkward in situations. "Becca, I would like you to meet my wife, Laura."

Becca's eyes widened at the admission. "Oh, um, hi."

"Hello, Becca." Laura smiled at her with such a warm smile Becca felt like her cold insides were starting to melt. "I've heard so much about you. Come here, get some coffee before these two drink it all."

She did as she was told, taking the cup she was offered, putting her own fixings in it. "So, this is your home?"

Clint nodded, leaning back against the counter. "It's kept secret. The only people that know about it are Fury and Nat, and now you. No one knows about Laura and I want to keep it that way." The sound of 2 pairs of feet padding down the stairs brought a wide smile to his face. "Especially these two."

His two kids came running in the room, jumping on their father in joy that he was home. The older boy Cooper was a spitting image of his father with the little girl, Lila, took many of her mother's mannerisms. It was in that moment that Becca realized where she stood. She knew how close Clint and Natasha were, almost jealous of their bond. But now they were taking her in, giving her a home away from home.

* * *

We are 1 chapter away from Iron Man 2. Up next the past of SHIELD will all be explained to Becca.

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR MY REBECCA!**


	5. Soap

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Soap - Rainey Qualley

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

This is our last deep dive before heading into Iron Man 2 next! Enjoy!

* * *

****

**Soap**

_I'm tired of being careful, gentle, trying to keep the water warm_

_Let me under your skin_

_Uh-oh, there it goes, I said too much, it overflowed_

_Why do I always spill?_

_I feel it coming out my throat_

_Guess I better wash my mouth out with soap_

_God, I wish I never spoke_

_Now I gotta wash my mouth out with soap_

"Bex, Neilsen, you're up!"

Becca's head popped up from where she was sitting on the outskirts of the training mat, surrounded by all the prospected agents. Her eyes immediately locked with the man called Garrett Neilsen across from her, who was pulling himself up.

"Come on, Bex. What are you waiting for?" Agent Brock Rumlow stood in the middle of the mat. He was a STRIKE team commander of S.H.I.E.L.D. and at the moment was appointed their chief of command for training. Sure, he had quite the accomplishments, but it seemed to Becca that she was getting the absolute worst from him. "Let's go princess!" And there was the vile he seemed to throw at her.

She glared at him while pulling herself off the ground. Becca unzipped the black hoodie from her body and let it drop to where she was once sitting. The agents started off with grappling each other as Rumlow requested, then move onto different holds. The two dodged hooks and the other trying to kick the legs out from under their opponent. That was until Becca was able to knock Garrett on his back.

Becca flipped over, pinning Garrett to the ground with her forearm against his throat and legs pinning down his thighs. "You give?"

Garrett sighed, tapping her thigh out. "Only for you."

She smirked and stood up. "Good to hear." She gave him a hand and helped him up.

He smiled down to her, as he finally stood over her. "Don't get used to it." Her smirk turned higher as the two continued to stare at each other.

"Enough! Everyone's done for the day." Rumlow called out towards the group, but his eyes focused on the two still in the center of the mat who just jumped back from each other. "Stark, you were sloppy in your moves."

"It's Bex." She tightened her ponytail, trying to be civil with the name called out.

"Excuse me?" He barked back at her.

She raised an eyebrow, watching her coworkers flow around to grab their stuff and slowly exit. "Which one?"

"All of them." The commander grabbed his folders off the ground that had all the rookie's information in it.

"All of them!" Becca's eyes went wide, even hearing her voice raise. "I took down Garrett."

"Lower your voice, recruit." He stalked over to her, making sure his point was heard. "You were all over the place, there was no routine to your moves. I understand you're getting special treatment and everything because you're a Stark and all but that won't help you when you're actually out on the field." He belittled her, but Becca just took it. "I don't know what you and your superior have actually worked on, but it looks like nothing."

"Nothing, ayy, Rumlow?" Both of their heads whipped up to the staircase seeing Clint descending them. At the sight of the higher agent the other recruits immediately made their way out of the room as soon as they could. "Because it seems to me that Agent Bex here was just promoted. Again." Clint came to stand between the two, face to face with Rumlow. "So why don't you go work harder with the ones your trying to persuade onto your team."

Becca couldn't help the grin that she was desperately trying to hold back at the sight of Rumlow getting torn apart by her Handler. It's seldom to see Clint go after one of his own team members, but he wasn't about to let all the hard work Becca had done over the past year be washed away by some brawn over brain. Brock merely nodded at Clint and left the two.

"You good?" Clint's eyes finally found hers, turning himself entirely away from Rumlow who was leaving.

Becca nodded. "Just the normal degrading. I'm used to it by now." She walked away to grab her hoodie, missing Clint's facial expression.

"Don't listen to a thing that comes out of his mouth, Rebecca."

The sound of him using her full name grabbed her attention again. "You don't have to worry about that, Clint." She looked back to him with a smile. "I've dealt with this my entire life. It's no point in getting angry with someone who doesn't know you."

He just stood there for a second letting those words sink in, putting more of a light on the person she was. It gave him more insight of where he saw her future unfolding. "Don't ever lose that."

"What?"

"Your compassion. If I teach you anything, I hope that you take away the fact that just because you are supposed to hunt someone down doesn't mean you should not feel remorse of some type." He gently squeezed her shoulder in a comforting way to her. "The second you feel nothing, I want you to get out. You understand me?"

She nodded, biting her bottom lip into her mouth. The fact that she got to see this side of Clint Barton meant something.

"Let's get out of here." He directed them out of the training room and into the hallway.

"How was the mission?" She asked, pulling her hoodie back on. S.H.I.E.L.D. was not a warm place. She had a feeling Fury did that on purpose. Don't keep a place too warm or it will make people want to stay around.

"Just an in and out. Quick and easy." They got into the elevator to head up to the offices. "You here for the rest of the day?"

"Mhmm. It's summer so I'm free of class."

"Good, I need you to fill out some paperwork."

"For what?"

Clint merely smirked at her before exiting the elevator, letting her follow.

"Really? Now you go silent?" She chased after him like his shadow. He just kept walking until they got to Natasha and his office door.

"After you." He motioned towards the closed door.

Becca gave him a side eye before pushing the heavy wooden door open. She was immediately taken back by Natasha and Coulsen laughing on the other side, but also the addition of another desk added. "What's going on?" It seemed she was asking that quite a bit today.

"You didn't tell her?" Natasha raised an eyebrow at her counterpart who just entered the room behind Becca.

"Didn't get that far yet, Nat." He glared at her before turning his attention back to the younger girl. "So, I wasn't lying when I said you were ranking up earlier. You have officially been training here for a full year now. Constantly working hard. Going above and beyond what's entitled for-"

"-Oh, for the love of god, Barton!" The fiery red head was beyond annoyed with his drawing out of the situation.

"Fine, your clearance has been ranked to level 4. Congratulations." He rolled his eyes, plopping down in the chair at his desk. It was a big deal and he was proud of her, but that clearly didn't go the way he wanted.

Becca on the other hand was shell shocked. She knew what Level 4 entailed and she had no idea she would get there so soon. "Seriously?" She looked at each of her superiors in the room.

Coulson nodded. "Welcome to STRIKE Team Delta."

"And what does that entail exactly?"

"Well, besides being just as a call on the STIRKE Team, you will be more focused on working with these two on missions." The Agent pointed back and forth from the two assassins in the room.

For whatever reason, she was mostly silent. When she started this a year ago and as she continued to grow and learn in the organization, it hadn't felt like she could actually be a legitimate agent one day. But here she was, being offered something that most people in this building would never see in their lifetime.

"So…what do you think?" Natasha asked, pulling the younger woman out of her headspace.

"I-I'm…I'm honored." Becca became even more flabbergasted with words, but something else came to the forefront of her mind. "But, how does this work? I still have a year left of school."

"And we understand that." Coulson sat down on the edge of Natasha's desk on the far left. "You've been playing double life now and you've been doing a bang-up job at it. You are going to keep up with the same lifestyle for your last year of college. But once you graduate we want you here full time. This will be your one and only job. Understand?"

If he was expecting some type of hesitation from her, there was now. "Absolutely. I completely understand."

"Great, can I pop this sucker now?" Natasha, the ever patient, presented a bottle of champagne.

The four cheered with a glass in hand, Becca letting the bubbling liquid fill up her insides. As the three continued chatting and laughing with one another, an easiness that she didn't take for granted with the people that have become so much more to her than colleagues the past year, she walked around to her new desk. It was a normal looking work desk, folders set up on one side with a desktop computer on the right. Before she could look through the drawers to keep searching, the paperwork caught her eye.

The beginning was normal, wording that she had seen before; her full name, agent name, date of birth, location, and so on. But there were 2 new segments. One filled out with her affiliation with STRIKE Team Delta and her code name. Clint was named Hawkeye and Natasha had Black Widow, but she had always thought she would just stick with Agent Bex. But as she read the word it perfectly explained her place on this team, what Clint had been training her on.

With her eyes wide with emotion, Becca looked up to see her handler already looking back at her. He gave her a soft smile and raised his glass to her. She smiled back at him before looking down at the name again.

Lithe.

* * *

" _Happy Birthday to Becca. Happy Birthday to you!_ "

"Make a wish, baby girl." Tony said across the table.

Said girl smiled bright as the candles on the small birthday cake in front of her shimmered in her eyes. She closed those same hazel eyes for a split second, making her silent wish, before opening them again and blowing out the fire. The small group of people clapped and cheered, the waiter coming over to take the cake and cut pieces out of it.

"So, what did you wish for?" Her father asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

"I'm not telling you." Becca licked the icing off her finger from the piece the waiter had set in front of her.

"You gonna tell your favorite uncle?" Rhodey smiled, who was on the left of her at their square table in the restaurant.

"You're as bad as he is!" Pepper exclaimed from the last spot at the table, pointing back and forth between the 2 men.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Tony acted dumb, biting a piece of cake off his fork.

"Never do." Becca gave the sass right back to her dad.

"So, it's been a few years now, how's New York treating you, Bec?" The question coming from the Colonel.

She nodded excitedly, swallowing the sweet dessert fast. "It's still going great. Julliard gave me another summer position, so I'm at least making money while I'm waiting for my last year." And the lies just come so easily.

"What does your last year of school look like?"

She shrugged her shoulders, looking at her uncle. "Higher classes. Learning more about movement, techniques, stuff like that. My big thing is I have to put together a performance for the end of the year."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Pepper spoke up. "I've watched you make up your own performance for years."

"Yes, but this time I have to teach an entire routine to a group of people."

"You're going to do a fantastic job." Tony leaned back in his chair looking at his daughter. "You're a Stark, it's what we do."

At that comment, she gave him a pushed smile before looking down at the piece of cake on her plate. And seamlessly after that comment, a person came to gush over her father, or Iron Man, for the fourth time now that evening.

When Tony called his daughter up to figure out arrangements for her birthday, she didn't want to go out to a restaurant or anything big like that, but that was immediately shot down. Tony had to pick the high scale Italian restaurant that of course was packed on a Friday night, and eyes immediately on the family. She hadn't seen them all that much since Christmas, so she wasn't going to say no to being with them. It was just slightly bothering her with the new attention her father was getting. She was used to it her whole life, it was just heightened even more now.

"What happen to your wrist, Rebecca?"

The girl's head popped back up at Pepper's question, noticing the stranger was gone and all eyes at the table were on her.

"Hmm?"

"Your wrist." Pepper pointed at her left wrist.

Becca looked down to see where her bracelets had fallen and the flesh colored band-aid was now visible. "I'm such a klutz, I swear, I don't know how I'm a dancer." She laughed, gathering a chuckle out of the rest of the table. "I wasn't paying attention getting on the subway last week and scrapped the hell out of my wrist on the seat."

"I hope you got a tetanus shot for that. You might turn radioactive." Tony deadpanned.

"I don't know, I think I'm turning into a mutant." Her eyebrows shot up at the thought.

"You're not the only 'superhero' of the family, Tony." Rhodey winked at his niece.

She laughed but the story was once again a fib. In fact, a mission she was on a week ago was what actually happen to her wrist. It was a simple in and out job, she had to stop a small group that was trying to infiltrate their phone system. One of the guys nipped her wrist with a stupid pocket knife, and once she saw the small cut, all bets were off. She took the small group down in a matter of seconds.

The sound of her phone dinging, took her attention. She was half expecting to be called out for a mission, but was surprised to see her friend, Eve's name, on the screen instead. She read the message quickly, to not be rude.

"Boyfriend calling?" The elder Stark joked.

"I definitely don't have one of those. It's just Eve. There's a party tonight, and she was asking if I wanted to go."

And that's when she knew she went wrong. Her father's eyes lit up and she was now no matter what going to this party. He was going to make sure his daughter got out more and tried to have more of a good time in life. And that brought her to where she was now.

Becca looked at the tall building in front of her, seeing the bright lights coming out of the 5th story windows where the party was taking place. She wasn't a big party person, never had been. In high school when her classmates were talking about the weekend party at so and so's house, she was always on the outside of the conversation. Usually skipping them to spend her time in the dance studio or reading her obscure books that no one else was into or spending time in her father's lab.

Eve tried to change this when she became friends with Becca. Becca had gone to a few parties in the three years she had been to Julliard now, but she would be the last person to arrive and first person to leave. She could say she was there and then she was out. Not that she had that much time anyways with her studies and SHIELD.

A very drunken couple broke her concentration as they stumbled their way out of the building and started down the sidewalk away from her. She watched them for a split second just to make sure they were about to drive, her newly over observations taking over. She finally took a deep breath and made her way into the building.

Her converse squeaked against the stairs as she started her long ascent up the stairwell. The elevator was clear and she could have taken it, but she decided to waste as much time as possible by herself. With each floor she got to, her fingers continued to play with the small knife she had attached to her belt on her jean shorts. She knew she wasn't going to have to use it, but it became second nature to start carrying wherever she went.

The bass beat met her automatically upon entering the apartment. There were 20somethings everywhere. Some dancing, some holding the traditional red solo cup in their hands, and mostly everyone laughing and talking. She smiled at the few people she knew from classes, getting a legit hello from her fellow dancers.

"Becca! You made it!" The tall blonde, Eve, came rushing over. Her hand dragging her boyfriend, and the host, Taylor along with her.

"Yeah, better late than never I guess." Becca smiled, looking at the drunk twentysomethings all around them. "Thanks for having me, Taylor."

"No problem. Happy Birthday by the way." The shaggy haired boy rose his cup up to her in a salute.

"Yes, Birthday! Birthday shots!" Eve had now taken Becca's hand to drag across the room towards the table that was set up with bottles of alcohol along with cups and shot glasses. Eve hastily poured out 3 shots of Birthday Cake Smirnoff, that Eve said was "the closest thing I can get to an actual cake for you".

The three cheers and quickly took back the shot, Becca's face puckering from the harsh liquid burning her tongue and throat. She was never a vodka person, much more preferred whiskey or dry red wine.

"How was dinner?"

Becca shrugged, while denying a red cup of whatever juice was made tonight. "The usual family drama. My father being over-the-top while Rhodey and Pepper stayed out of the middle."

"Honestly, what's it like to have your dad be Iron Man. That's like so cool." Taylor questioned with a fan type of enthusiasm in his voice.

Before Becca could answer a bigger guy came over, clearly not sober. "Woah, wait you're Rebecca Stark?"

"Um, yeah-"

"-Holy shit. Yo, my friends are never going to believe that I'm actually at the same party as you. Yo, you got to let me take a picture with you." He fumbled his phone out of his pocket.

"I appreciate it but, I'd rather not."

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that." His hand rested now against her shoulder.

"Adam, stop. This is supposed to be lowkey." Taylor tried to stop the guy, now known as Adam.

"It's just a stupid picture." He argued back.

"Please, no." Becca tried to gently push his arm away.

"It'll just take a second." This time pulling her entire body against his.

That's when something turned in Becca. She did some swift shots to his body and flung him around until his back was on the ground.

Staring down at the guy on the floor is when it all clicked on what she just did. The music was still playing, but it was silent as everyone in the party stared wide-eyed at the scene she just caused. Becca quickly stood up, before backing out of the apartment, not saying a word and started running down the stairs.

She didn't stop until she was standing outside of the building, standing like a stone as she heard Eve's voice coming up behind her. "Becca, stop."

"I'm sorry." The brunette turned around seeing the shocked look still etched on her friend's face.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Eve's arms crossed in front of her chest.

"I don't know. Something just snapped, and that guy-"

"-That's Adam, he's a professional asshole. He deserved that." She waved a hand in between them to move on from what happen upstairs. "I mean with you. You've been acting so strange lately."

Becca shook her head, trying to ignore the people that were walking around them. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about ever since we got back to school last year you've been off. You randomly disappear for days at a time, you'll always take weird secretive phone calls. Like I understand your dad is Iron Man now and all and I bet…" Eve suddenly stopped talking shaking her head in disgust. "No, actually I don't know what hell that feels like, so I'm sorry for that-"

"-Eve-"

"-but as your one true friend you have in this city, I'm going to say this as nice as possible. You need to get out of your own way." She shrugged her shoulders, hands coming to rest on her hips. "Stop trying to be and do everything. You keep pushing people away like you do, you're going to be left with nothing in the end."

She had nothing to say, only watch the one true and honest friend she had made walk away from her. And possibly out of her life. Was this what she had to expect now? The only thing she had been doing for the past year was lie. Lying to her family, her friends, everyone outside of one organizations. Was it worth it? What was she going to lose out of it?

"You lost, little lady?"

Becca didn't realize the question was directed towards her until she saw Garrett enter her peripheral vision. She had to blink a few times, pulling her thoughts out of the cloud she had just entered.

"You okay, Bex?"

She cleared her throat, putting a small smile back on her lips. "What are you doing here?"

"On my way to the bar up the street, meeting up with some friends." He saw the way her body language had changed from distraught when he first walked up to now. Like she was trying to hide everything. "You sure you're okay?"

Becca opened her mouth ready to lie once again, but she changed her mind halfway through. "No, actually. I'm not."

Garrett rubbed his hands together, not expecting her to actually admit it to him. Him and Becca were fair acquaintances at best. They were always friendly to each other at SHIELD and would always help the other if need be. But until now they had been strictly colleagues; never have any interaction outside of the tall building. "You want to talk about it?"

"It's just been an overall sucky day for a birthday."

"Wait? It's your birthday?" His eyes widened and his thick city accent came out. "Well that's just unacceptable! We have to change that."

She shook her head, not wanting to drag him into any of her drama that had followed her so far this evening. "It's okay. I'm ready to just go home and eat my sorrows in a pint of Ben & Jerry's."

He watched her for a second, seeing her eyes drifting all over the place. "How about this, you come with me down to the bar for just one drink and meet some new people. If you're still not feeling it, you can leave immediately. No questions asked." Garrett smiled when her eyes finally found his again. They squinted at him in apprehension.

"One drink and then I can leave?"

"One drink and then you can take the night on by yourself."

Becca thought about it for another second, before finally nodding, getting a large smile and a clap of the hands from him. His energy got a laugh and smile out of her. "It better be one good drink."

He led her down the street towards his original destination. "Whatever you want, Bex."

"It's Becca."

"What?"

She glanced up at him. "You can call me Becca outside of SHIELD."

This gained another smile from him. And they were very contagious. "Whatever you want, Becca."

* * *

Becca walked up the stone stairs to the large double oak doors, trying to get her grip on where she was. Taking one last deep breath, the brunette opened the door and walked across the marble lament floors, her converse squeaking with each step. Older individuals were placed through the main room, doing their own thing with soft smiles on their faces. Becca finally regained her thoughts and went to the front desk a few feet away from her.

"Can I help you miss?" A mahogany color-haired woman, a few years older than she was, addressed her.

"Hi, I was hoping to meet with Ms. Margaret Carter." Becca gave her a sweet smile, but was given back an uncertain look.

"Well, does Ms. Carter know of this visit?" The women looked over the log book in front of her.

"Oh, no I didn't realize I would need to set something up. I haven't seen her in a long time and I wanted to surprise her." Lying really was becoming second nature at this point.

She thought about it for a second, but finally nodded telling Becca to follow her. "Now I ask if she doesn't want to see you that you please leave. Some days are better than others."

The young girl raised an eyebrow at the statement. "What do you mean?"

"Ms. Carter has the starting of dementia."

Becca didn't know how to respond to this information. She just quietly followed the worker out into the garden. She took notice to an older woman with her back towards them, sitting at a small two-person white iron table. Becca could make out a book resting in her hands.

"Ms. Carter, you have a visitor." The nurse announced once they were next to her.

Said woman looked up from her book to glance over the two ladies. Her eyes staying on Becca and a smile gracing her lips. "Hello, dear."

Becca swallowed quickly before greeting her back with a smile as well. "Hello, I'm Rebecca."

"Oh darling, I know who you are." Peggy rested her book down on the table. "I might have a few screws loose but I can still get by just fine. Darlene, would you please get some ice tea for my company and I please?" The worker nodded, before heading back inside. "Sit, please."

Becca did as she was told, allowing her bag to rest at her feet. "So, you know who I am?"

"I would recognize a Stark anywhere. It is nice to finally meet the next generation."

"Well it's an honor to meet you as well."

Peggy waved a hand at her as Darlene set the drinks down on the table in front of them. "Well, you definitely have the charm, don't you?"

"That part is for sure genetic." Becca smiled, getting a laugh from the older woman.

"I'm quite surprised to meet you finally. Your grandfather wanted to keep Anthony out of this part of the world."

The younger woman took a sip of her drink and shook her head. "My father doesn't know that I'm here. In fact, he doesn't know I'm working with SHIELD, period."

"A young lady after my own heart." The former commander took a second to study her. "Why are you here, Rebecca?"

"I believe I'm here for some questions that I hope you can answer…"

"But?" Peggy could feel her hesitation.

"But…I honestly just wanted to meet you."

"Well I'm glad you did. I've been watching you and your father grow from afar. And I must say Anthony reminds me in every way of your grandfather at that age." She laughed at the thought, then turned to fully look over Becca. "But you…you have grown into such a beautiful, young woman, all the Stark smarts without the pettiness. It's absolutely radiant on you."

Becca couldn't help the deep blush that grew from her neck into her cheeks. She had heard compliments from many before, but something about this role-model of a woman severely made her mute.

"So, go ahead, darling. Ask away." Peggy drank some of her ice tea, allowing the sun to warm her over.

"What was my grandfather like? I was so young when he died, and what I do remember he was always working."

"Mhmm, that was Howard in the last years. Constantly working, always wanting to be the first for everything."

Becca tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "But he wasn't always like that?"

"Oh, dear no. There were plenty of times I was ready to throw Howard off a bridge from him getting on my nerves about one thing or another. The playboy extraordinaire he was." They laughed at the thought. "But still after everything that we went through, and that he put people through, we were partners. We created this organization that, if anything, helped even if just a small amount."

"Honestly when I first found out about SHIELD I was beyond confused. For my whole life Stark Industries has been such a big deal, but then finding out that this completely other world it's just…it's almost overwhelming."

"Why did you join SHIELD?"

The young Stark had to sit for a second to think over her decision. She honestly never fully thought about why, she just was game for it since the beginning. But why? "Since I found out this organization there was no other thought in my mind on joining. Director Fury explained to me grandfather's hope of me helping and that's all I needed to hear. I've never been all that great in the lab like him and my father. I can hold my own, but not like them. The idea of helping people, in somehow or someway, that really struck out to me."

"Do you think of yourself as a caretaker, Rebecca?" Peggy moved in her chair to now fully face her.

"I would say so, in sorts."

The silver haired woman smiled softly at her shy agreement, clearly not a person who likes to label themselves. "I agreed to helping Howard and Colonel Phillips with creating SHIELD, because quite honestly, I was worried with the what the government was thinking of doing after Project Rebirth."

"Captain America?"

Peggy nodded, looking down for a second to regain her emotions before continuing. "We had lost the serum that transformed Steve Rogers into the man everyone still tries to live up to. But he was that hero before the serum was ever used, not many know that though."

"Why were you worried?"

"Because even though we didn't have the serum anymore they had taken a few samples of his blood and I was worried on what they might try to do with it. Your grandfather had a sample as well, but after a fight I poured it into the water under the Brooklyn Bridge." Becca wasn't expecting her to admit that, because she was sure no one knew of that major detail. "Steve saved us all, and he deserved to be put to rest for once and for all." Peggy sat forward grabbing a hold of Becca's hand. "I'm telling you this because I know you'll do good work for this organization."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you're not like the rest of them, darling. I'm sure you did your own deep digging to find yourself sitting in front of me right now. Am I right?"

Becca's sheepish nod gave her away. She dug deep into SHIELDs intel that brought her to Washington, D.C. today. She was supposed to come down and get acquainted with the Triskelion, primary headquarters for SHIELD. As she started her search, she could tell Peggy's information had an indentation to it. It had said she had retired and went back to Britain, but she was able to search past that to this retirement home they were at right now.

"I'm sorry if I violated your privacy-"

"-You did absolutely no thing." Peggy patted her hand, before picking up her ice tea again. "I know things are happening with my mind, and there isn't a way for me to stop it. But I'm glad to have met you and was able to give a little insight before you strive in this world."

"Well I thank you for seeing me." She grinned, but was cut off by the sound of her phone dinging. Her SHIELD phone. "I'm sorry." Becca apologized grabbing the phone out of her bag.

"Duty calls."

"I believe so." It was a simple message from Clint saying to get back to New York ASAP. "I'm sorry for having to cut this short."

"No worries, darling." Peggy waved a hand to tell her it was okay. "Go take care of the world."

Becca thanked her again before getting up and pulling her bag back on her shoulder.

"Rebecca, one last thing." She turned back to Agent Carter to listen. "Who is your mother, by chance?"

She cleared her throat, her grip getting tighter on her bag. "I-um…I don't know."

"Oh, it's just you remind me so much of a woman I use to know."

Becca gave her one last smile and then headed out. The talk of her mother was never something that got brought up, so Peggy asking about it now took her by surprise. Was her mother's history somehow involved with her grandfather's and Peggy's past as well?

* * *

Rebecca rushed into the hospital, eyes floating everywhere not being able to stay on one thing long. She quickly found the stairwell and took the steps two at a time up, getting up to the 3rd floor in record time. She navigated the hallway, dodging nurses and doctors with each turn, before finally finding Deputy Director Maria Hill standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Bex, thank god." Maria sighed, her arms holding stress where she had them crossed at her chest.

"What happen?" Becca finally found herself in front of the Deputy Director.

"The mission in Iran went wrong. She's okay, but she's going to be out for a while."

The hazel eyed girl looked to her left to try to see inside the hospital room. "Can I see her?"

Maria nodded, before moving out of her way. Becca cautiously opened the door, the lights were off and the only light was shining in through the blinds that were semi open. Coulson was leaning in the corner, arms crossed while Clint sat next to the bed.

"Well, you're a sight for sore eyes, or sore abdomen at that." Natasha's voice was hoarse from her spot in the hospital bed. Her usual vibrant red hair, looked almost muted against the starch white pillows.

"Hey, how you feelin'?" Becca took a seat on the bed next to her feet on the same side Clint was stationed on.

"Like I got shot through the stomach." She groaned, moving just a slight inch gave her pain.

"Literally." Clint grumbled, but still couldn't help a small chuckle at his partner.

"What happen?"

"Got the scientist out, but my car was pushed off a cliff. I guess the person that did it didn't like the fact that we survived that and then killed the scientist by shooting through me." Natasha lifted up the blanket to show Becca where the gauze was placed over her left hipbone.

"We're going to figure this out, Natasha." Coulson finally spoke up from his spot. "There's got to be a reason someone else was after the scientist."

"You didn't see who it was?" Becca asked softly.

The redhead shook her head. "He had on a mask…but he moved differently than a normal spy or assassin."

"Well he now has a target on his back from us." Clint was nerved by the fact that his friend was laid up in the bed, and possibly had a hit out for her.

"Oh, I'm going to find him," Natasha's voice turned back to her usual hostile self, "he's going to wish he never did this."

* * *

How big of a deal will Garrett be in Becca's life & how will Peggy's words affect her future?

Up next: The Stark Expo & Arguments in Washington.

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR MY REBECCA!**


	6. White Walls

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

White Walls - The Maine

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

Here's the start of Iron Man 2! We're getting very close to some one appearing very very soon!

* * *

****

**White Walls**

_We bleed the same blood_

_You and me_

_We bleed the same blood_

_The way that the river runs through_

_I bleed for you_

**2010**

Becca sneezed as the strong smell of hairspray entered her nose. She didn't even know which direction that whiff came from since she was literally standing in a room that if you would have lit a match the place might have went up in flames.

"Ms. Stark. 10 Minutes until show time."

Said girl thanked the assistant and before going back to the times on the paper in her hands. This was her final college assignment. If one thing went wrong tonight she wouldn't graduate. It's kind of funny how she was more nervous about graduating college than when she was being tortured on a mission. Oh, how her life has changed.

"Alright ladies! Let's get out to the backstage!" Becca called out to the woman that were stationed all around the dressing room. They were clad in a red and gold two piece that was basically just flashier bikini. Also, red high heeled boots and matching elbow length gloves. The gloves and the bikini top had round glowing lights in the center of each. If you couldn't tell by just the description they were dressed as something someone would wear for a sexy version of the Iron Man suit Halloween costume.

For her final project, she created a routine for an event. But not just any event. Her father decided now was the perfect time to bring back the Stark Expo, now that they were officially out of the war fair game. Tonight was opening night and they had asked her to coordinate the opening ceremony.

The ladies all lined up in the two lanes they had been assigned to since the first day of rehearsal. Which started about 3 weeks ago. They were all underclassmen, so her advisor since day one, Ms. Gabbert decided to use her senior project by killing two birds with one stone. And as she waited in the wings, seeing her advisor in the crowd, her nerves were skyrocketing.

"Becca, you okay?" Happy slid up next to her, taking a look out at the crowd as well.

"Nope. Think I'm going to vomit." She said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Do you need something? What do you need? I'll go get you something. Should I tell Tony to cancel the landing?" His words rushed out one after another like they always did when the security guard was nervous.

"Haps, calm down. I'm fine." She placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. Soothing him down actually made her nerves settle. It made her role of the 'sweetheart' so much truer. Her father was the reckless and she was guardian. And now tonight they were both on the stage to celebrate the life of her grandfather.

"Ms. Stark, we have only 1 minute left." The assistant came running back over to her, the headset falling down her black hair. She, like everyone here, just wanted this to go as smooth as possible.

Becca nodded, finally turning away from Happy and the crowd to see the girls wide eyed and edgy. She knew that feeling all too well. "Okay, ladies. You're going to be great. You've all worked so hard on this routine and I'm truly blessed to have such talented women as you guys. So, go out there have some fun and kill it!"

The group cheered back at her in agreement. The young Stark got the attention of the audio technician, giving him a thumb's up to get things going. As 'Shoot to Thrill' by ACDC started blasting through the convention center the ladies took their cues to head out onto the stage. The girl's followed through with their routine, before lining up in the back to wait for the big surprise. Rebecca looked up at the opening in the ceiling of the event center opened and in came her father. Clad in his Iron Man suit, Tony landed on the stage getting a giant rise out of the crowd. The ladies continued to dance as he spun around in a circle, the suit slowly being taken off of him by robots out of the stage.

As the girls finished up the final movements of the routine with the song, her shoulders finally fell from their spot so close to her ears from tension. It happened and without a single flaw. She was honestly so relieved that she was one step closer to being done with school.

"Oh, it's good to be back!" Tony celebrated, as the girls took their routes off the stage, leaving him in the center of it alone. The crowd hollered in celebration with excitement and asking her father to 'blow something up'. Which he responded back with "I already did that."

"I'm not saying, that the world isn't enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me." And Tony's egomaniac speech reined on gathering the cheering and applauds from the crowd. "And I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history. I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an ice tea, because I haven't come across anyone who's man enough to go toe to toe with me on my best day."

Becca really couldn't help the dramatic eye roll that fell upon her face, hearing Happy snicker from beside her. Tony Stark really was something else.

"Please, it's not about me. It's not about you. It's not even about us. It's about legacy. And to help me with that, I would like to present to you one of my greatest accomplishments. Say hello to the grace of this family and the one who put together this opening ceremony here tonight, my daughter. Rebecca Stark."

She took one last deep breathe before walking out from behind the scenes. It was almost comical how quickly she can turn into the part of heirloom that she had grown up with. The cheap, soft smile fell onto her lips, her body stood up even straighter than normal, and her hand came up to wave at the cheering crowd watching her. Studying and analyzing everything she does.

"We honestly can't thank you all enough for coming out and celebrating tonight with us." Becca looked out across the faces, trying to not forget the speech in her head. "As my father was saying, tonight is about looking onward. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations and that's why for the next year, and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision to leave behind a brighter future."

"It's not about us." Tony gently placed his hand of her daughter's back for emphasis. "Therefore, what I'm saying, if we've been up here saying anything at all, is welcome back to the Stark Expo!" He gave Becca a soft smile, knowing this was a lot for her but that she was doing such a good job as the crowd continued to roar in celebration.

"Now, we have a special guest appearance," Becca took control of the crowd again, "from the great beyond to tell you what it's all about, please welcome my grandfather, Howard Stark."

The two Starks crossed paths across the stage to each go to the opposite side as the video played of Howard, for the audience to watch from the first expo so many years ago.

"Rebecca, that was fantastic!" Ms. Gabbert met with the young dancer immediately in the shadows of the wing.

"I'm so glad you enjoyed it, the girls did an absolutely phenomenal job." Becca gushed right back with her professor. "They deserve almost all the credit."

"Oh dear, always so humble. It's trait I certainly enjoy about you."

As Ms. Gabbert continued to congratulate Becca on the performance and so on, she couldn't help but take notice to her father on the other side of the stage. He looked off. He was the one that was so gung-ho about bringing this back, but there was something off with his attitude. Something wasn't sitting right, and she was going to figure it out.

They finished up the end of the presentation which was quick and painless. Happy navigated the two out of the hordes of people, mostly girls literally throwing themselves at her father. They were technically done for the evening, Becca wanted nothing more than to go back to her apartment, eat pizza, and sleep while Tony wanted to celebrate.

"Are you sure you're not a 98-year-old grandmother?" Tony joked with his kid.

"I like to sleep; sue me." She barked back before thanking Happy for holding the door open for her.

"That wasn't so bad." Happy interjected between the two family members.

"No, it was perfect." Tony agreed with him as the three walked to the parking lot.

"And look what we got here, the new model." Happy unlocked some white car that Becca had no idea what it was, but there was a woman leaning up against the driver's side door with a piece of paper in hand.

"Does she come with the car?"

"I certainly hope so."

"You both are gross." Becca glared at the two of them before giving the women a soft smile as she walked around her.

"And you are?" Tony asked after the two greeted each other.

"Marshall." The redhead told him, shaking each other's hand.

"Irish. I like it."

"Pleased to meet you, Tony." She had a sickening sweet attitude about her that was making Becca uneasy. Happy took the top down on the car, while Becca pulled herself into the backseat.

"Where you from?" Tony walked around to the driver's side.

"Bedford."

"Yeah, and what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"Yeah? You found me." Tony fell into the driver's seat with Happy taking his place in the passenger. "Tell me, what are you up to later?"

"Serving subpoenas." She smirked, holding the paper out to him.

Everyone in the car had a quiet 'oh shit' moment over them. "Yikes." Tony pursed his lips, looking down at the steering wheel.

Becca cleared her throat, holding her hand out of the side to take the paper from the lady. "He doesn't like to be handed things."

"Yeah, I have a peeve."

The woman didn't give a damn though. "You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow morning at 9 A.M."

"Can I see a badge?"

"You want to see a badge?"

Happy nodded. "He likes the badge."

The redhead smiled, holding up the star badge for him to get a long look at. "You still like it?" She slowly walked away from the car.

"What the hell did you do this time?" Becca sighed, reading over the paperwork.

"Oh, you know, just doing my damn job probably." Tony started the car, before looking over at Happy. "How far away are we from D.C.?"

"D.C.? 250 miles." Happy explained to him.

"Bec, what's your life like tomorrow?" He looked in the rearview mirror at his daughter.

Her eyes glared up from the paper to look at him in the mirror. "Not spending it in D.C."

"Hmm, too bad." And with those words he sped off, taking them off to the nation's capital without giving them a choice in the matter.

* * *

"I know this is odd for me to say, but I honestly can't believe we are still here."

Becca snorted at Pepper's comment that she had whispered in her ear. They were currently in the Senate hearing room going into the second part of her father's hearing of the day. Before they had an hour recess they were getting basically no real answer from Tony and she highly assumed it would be the same now. The two women were seated in the second row while Tony was in the interrogation seat upfront. Now, while he should have been paying attention to the members seat in front of him, he was trying to get their attention.

"Mr. Stark," Senator Stern banged the gavel, trying to regain his focus, "could we pick up now where we left off? Mr. Stark, please."

It finally took the fifth time of Pepper telling Tony to turn back around to do as he was told. "Yes, dear?" His comment getting a chuckle from the otherwise usually cold room.

"Can I have your attention?"

"Absolutely."

The Senator wore the fakest, smuggest smile. "Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?"

"I do not." Tony got up close to the microphone to make sure he was heard crystal clear.

"You do not?"

"I do not…well it depends on how you define the word weapon."

"The Iron Man weapon." Senator Stern sat back in his seat, feeling like he was going to win no matter what.

Tony shook his head. "My device does not fit that description."

"Well, how would you describe it?"

"I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator."

"As?"

"It's a-" he thought about it for a split second, "-it's a high-tech prosthesis." Gaining another laugh from the crowd, except for Becca and Pepper. "That is actually the most apt description I can make of it."

"It's a weapon." Stern leaned forward again. "It's a weapon, Mr. Stark. I hate to inform you-"

"-Please, if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen-"

"-My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America."

Becca could feel herself shrinking into her seat at the confrontation. Everything about it was making her cringe and not want to be in the room anymore to listen to this.

"Well, you can forget it." Tony says matter-of-factly. "I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending on what state you're in."  _Laughter_. "You can't have it."

"L-look, I'm not expert-"

"-In prostitution? Of course not. You're a senator. Come on!" He was again gained the love from the crowd, looking back to give them a peace sign. But what he really saw was his daughter slouched in her seat, hand covering her eyes. He looked over to Pepper sitting next to her, who gave him an unsatisfied look.

"I'm no expert in weapons." Senator Stern regain the attention. "We have somebody here who is an expert on weapons. I'd now like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor."

At the name, both Starks sat up straight, watching the blonde man walk in for the side chamber. The one man who has been trying to combat Stark Industries since he got into this business. And just an all-around nuisance of a person.

"Let the record reflect that I observed Mr. Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering if, and when, any actual expert will also be in attendance." Tony snarked, as the man sat down parallel to him.

Stern banged the gavel, again trying to gain the attention of the abnormally active room.

Justin laughed, pulling the microphone close. "Absolutely. I'm no expert. I defer to you, Anthony. You're the wonder boy." Saying the words that he knew even if they didn't get under his skin, they certain made some room in his brain. "Senator, if I may," Justin stood with his microphone to walk around the desk," I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert? Your dad." He pointed at Tony. "Howard Stark. Really a father to us all, and to the military-industrial age."

Becca felt Pepper place a hand on her own. And that's when she released she had become tense and was flicking her thumb against the inside of her finger. It's a tick she had acquired when she had started training with knives. When she was at home or in the office, one would find Becca mindlessly twirling a knife in her hand. And when she didn't have something, this tick would come out.

"Let's just be clear," Hammer continued on, "he was no flower child. He was a lion. We all know why we're here. In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet, he insists it's a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted, Anthony, I really do. I'd love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain't Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able to foresee. Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America."

Was that a testimony or a campaign speech with the bullshit that came from his mouth. The only ones he got to clap for him were the Senator's upfront.

"That is well said Mr. Hammer." Senator Stern finally gave a true smile, clearly his workings. "The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber."

"Uncle Rhodey?" Becca whispered to herself, turning in her seat with the rest of the audience to see Rhodey walking in clad in his uniform. Tony greeted his friend with a handshake and words between the two that no one else could hear, before the two took their seats.

Senator Stern greeted the Colonel before digging right back. "I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, complied by Colonel Rhodes. And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57, paragraph four?"

"You're requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?" Rhodey's eyebrows raised so high at the question.

"Yes, sir."

"It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner."

"I understand. A lot of things have changed today. So if you could just read-"

"-You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summary of the final-"

"-Just read it, Colonel. I do. Thank you."

Rhodey was annoyed, but he stayed calm even with the Senator clearly using his power in his own favor. He took a moment but read "As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests." He looked over to his right, honestly feeling horrible for his friend. "I did however, go on to summarize that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities and that it would be in our interest-"

Stern shook his head. "-That's enough Colonel-"

"-to hold Mr. Stark-"

"-that's enough-"

"-into the existing chain of command, Senator."

Tony finally had enough of sitting back and being talked about. "I'm not a joiner, but I'll consider Secretary of Defense, if you ask nice. We can amend the hours a little bit."

Stern just wasn't backing down on how he thought of Tony and Iron Man. "I'd like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that's connected to your report."

"I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time." Rhodey professed.

"With all due respect, Colonel, I understand. And if you could just narrate those for us, we'd be very grateful. Let's have the images."

The crowd looked over to the TV set up on the left side of the room to see the images.

"Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr. Stark's suit. This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment operational."

"Hold on a second, buddy. Let me see something here." Tony leaned forward doing something on his phone before hacking into their system to take control of the screens on either side of the room, getting the rise out of the 'higher ups'. "Boy, I'm good. Time for a little transparency. Now, let's see what's really going on."

"What is he doing?" Stern suddenly became nervous.

"If you will direct your attention to said screens, I believe that's North Korea." The video showed a large 'iron man' falling over and proceeding to fire bullets around.

Stern raised from his seat, leaning over the desk. "Can you turn that off?" Justin jumped out of his seat to try to help the Senator while Rhodey simple sat there with his hands perched, just letting things happen.

"Iran." Another explosion as the suit attempted to fly but crashed no more than five seconds later. "No grave threat here."

Becca finally was sitting straight up in her seat, an amused grin overtaking her face. She looked to her left to find Pepper was enjoying it as well, just a little more subtly.

"Is that Justin Hammer? How did Hammer get in the game? Justin, you're on TV. Focus up."

Said man was now trying to rip out every wire and box possible to turn it off as his 'iron man' seemed to have turned the person inside's upper body around to the back. You could hear the man crying out inside. Justin finally unplugged the TV, walking back to his seat in what looked like anger and complete embarrassment.

"Wow. Yeah, I'd say most countries, five, ten years away. Hammer Industries, twenty."

"I'd like to point out that that test pilot survived." Justin grabbed a hold of microphone as fast as he could.

"I think we're done is the point that he's making." Stern pointed, still standing. "I-I-I don't think there's any reason-"

"-The point is, you're welcome, I guess." Tony shrugged.

"For what?"

"Because, I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe. America is secure. You want my property? You can't have it!" Tony slammed his hand on the desk for emphasis. "But I did give you a big favor." He stood and turned to face the crowd. The people that he had made laugh throughout the meeting to gain them on his side. "I've successfully privatized world peace."

As the crowd stood up and applauded to his announcement, Becca slowly sunk down in her seat. Her hand coming up to block out the embarrassing scene in front of her. Her father and Senator Stern continued with harsh words against each other, before Tony took it in his own terms to leave. But not without continuing his political divide as he spoke to the audience and the tv cameras on the way out. There was absolutely no stopping him once he got in this mindset.

Pepper quickly stood up to run after her boss, while Becca stayed there to wait for the crowd to die down. As Senator Stern dismissed the room, Becca grabbed her bag and checked her contents before finally standing up. Looking to her right across the row of seats she found Coulson staring back at her with his hands folded and a smirk present across his lips. She looked around to see if any of her people would be watching, but her father and Pepper had left the room and Rhodey was speaking to the members of the board up front.

"Been here long?" She asked, coming to stand in front of him.

"Was just enjoying the show." Coulson joked, getting a small smile from his operative. "You seemed stressed throughout the whole thing."

"It's hard not to when Tony Stark is on his game." Becca crossed her arms, whispering lower for only their ears. "This isn't anything SHIELD related, correct? Just the government getting involved?"

He nodded, looking over her shoulder for a brief second before back at her. "It's nothing that was ordered under us. I'm simply here to make sure we have the intel if, or when, we are needed to step in."

She scrunched her nose in disgust. "This whole thing is becoming more and more of a hassle."

"Welcome to our world." He laughed, getting her to as well.

"Becca, you ready?" Rhodey called out from his position in the aisle, eyeing the man his niece was speaking with in uneasiness.

"Be right there." She gave him a smile before turning back to her superior. "I'll be back in New York in a few days."

Coulson nodded. "Take your time, you're not on call at the moment."

Becca thanked him before she turned and stepping beside Rhodey.

"Who was that?" He leaned down to ask her as the two walked out of the room.

"An agent I was speaking to back from when Dad disappeared. He just wanted to ask how things were going." The lie easily slipped from her tongue. "A very nice man."

The man nodded, but was still apprehensive to him.

The two met up with Pepper, Tony, and Happy who had stationed himself outside with the car for them to get in and get to the jet. The ride was awkward and it became even more awkward between Tony and Rhodey as the crew made their way on the Stark Jet.

"Tell him to apologize for ambushing me." Tony crossed his feet on the small table in front of him and Pepper.

Rhodey shook his head. "I ambushed you-"

"-Yeah, you did-"

"-because I sent you a report-"

"-oh, you know, I didn't-"

"-a month ago with red letters on the top of it-"

"-did not-"

"-saying 'Tony please fact check is'." The Colonel finally got the last word.

Pepper nodded, tired of this bickering way more than Becca was. "You received it."

"I didn't get that." Tony denied the allegation.

"It was on your desk."

"Oh please, like I remember. That's not fair because you know I wouldn't remember even if I did. Maybe Becca accidently grabbed it."

"Woah!" Said girl pointed a finger, as she was suddenly brought into this fight. No longer able to just stare out the window. "Don't blame me for this."

Tony shrugged, gesturing with his hand. "I'm just saying you might have accidently got a hold of it before heading back to New York."

"First of all, no. And second of all, I haven't been home in over 2 months. Didn't know about it."

"And how do you think that makes your dad feel? Huh? Never home, never answer my calls. It's like you've thrown me away for your new big shot friends in the city."

She gave him a glazed over stare at his words to try to get pity from her. "You are a nightmare."

"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." The older Stark pulled his feet off the table before turning back to the argument with his best friend. "Have you apologized yet?"

"I wouldn't hold my breath." Rhodey squinted with the sun reflecting in his eyes through the window.

"This would be a good time. I'm supposed to be Iron Man and you're supposed to have my back-"

"-and I do-"

"-and I got out of the gate and that left a vacuum, and now you're with Hammer, and I'm sorry!"

"Boy, would it be great to be at home in my apartment right now. But I'm stuck on this jet with children." Becca's head fell back against the seat dramatically.

Pepper nodded looking at the papers on her lap. "You know what would be really great, is if we could get through some of the stuff on the list."

"I'm Iron Man."

"Breaking news." Becca whispered, getting a half chuckle from her uncle across from her.

"Okay, Iron Man," Pepper replied sarcastically, "could we maybe-"

"-you don't know what that means-"

"-get through some of the stuff on this list-"

"-I protect the free world."

"We'll cancel Monaco." Pepper was officially annoyed.

"You guys are going to Monaco?" Rhodey questioned.

"What do you mean us guys?" Tony countered back. "You both are coming with us." He pointed back and forth from Rhodey to Becca.

"Umm, for the fifty time, no." Becca moved her legs to sit crisscross on the plane seat. "I have to finish up my finals so I can graduate."

"Yeah, and I'm not going either." Rhodey shook his head.

"Oh, come on." Tony exhaled turning to look at Rhodey, already knowing he wouldn't get anywhere with his daughter when school was on her brain. "That's our thing. We need this."

"Yeah, I've got a lot of stuff to do, Tony. I've got responsibilities."

"So, you don't wish to come?" He watched Rhodey shrug. "Just say-say what you mean. You don't want to hang out with me anymore."

"I think hanging out with you is bad for our friendship."

From an outsider's point of view besides hearing those words, you would have automatically watched Becca and Pepper's faces both wince in pain at the statement made by the Colonel. And then felt the awkward silence in the air as no one talked after that. After that the conversation just continued to get venomous from talking about Tony's birthday party and them never doing what he wants to do. After the hell day they had, the four of them desperately just needed to get away from each other.

* * *

Being at the Stark Mansion for only a day and a half was already making Becca's skin crawl. There was something off with the atmosphere in the home. In fact, the general air around her father was making her antsy at every turn. He was on edge, bickering with everyone more than usual, and but mostly keeping to himself as well. From someone's point of view who didn't know that dynamic in the Stark family this might look normal, but it was driving Becca crazy.

She knew it obviously started when Obi was killed and he had officially become Iron Man, but that was so long ago now, why was it still seemingly new. It probably didn't help that she was playing double agent to her own family. If the Stark family had a motto it was 'Keeping Secrets and Feigning Happiness.'

"You have got to be kidding me!"

Becca's head popped up from her spot on the couch where she was studying at the sound of Pepper's angry voice drifting through the first floor. That was another thing. Pepper had taken on so much more now that Tony was supposed to be in full control of Stark Industries. And it looked like the poor woman was about to lose her mind at any given second.

"I'm going to kill him. I'm honestly going to kill him."

At that Becca knew she needed to step in. "What did he do?" She asked as the older woman began her haste descendent to the basement in her heels.

"What didn't he do is the real question to ask!"

The secret assassin pushed her books on to the couch and began following after her. She didn't understand how Pepper could ever walk as fast and as sturdy in the heels she wore daily, but she gave her major props for it. Just as Pepper entered the last digits of the code to enter the workshop, Becca had made it to the last stop, grabbing the door before it slammed shut as Pepper strutted through.

"Uh uh." Tony pointed at Pepper as he sat at his circle desk in the center of the room. Becca took notice to the gross looking liquid that he had been drinking lately in the glass at his lips.

"Is this a joke?" Pepper stalked over to him, Becca trailing behind slowly. "What are you thinking?"

"What?"

"What are you thinking!" Her voice tripling in volume each time.

"Hey," Tony drawled out spinning away from her, "I'm thinking I'm busy and you're angry about something." He stood up walking away from the two. "Do you have the sniffles? I don't wanna get sick."

Becca sulked over to the couch set up in the corner of the room, not wanting to follow the duo around as they fought back and forth. She was just making sure no blood was going to be shed.

"Did you just donate our entire modern art collection to-to the-"

"-Boy Scouts of America-"

"BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA!"

She watched as her father looked to be walking through his virtual inventory to pick things out, as Pepper just fumed with each step she took behind him.

"Yes, it is a worthwhile organization." Tony explained, playing target practice by throwing the virtual objects at it to 'earn points'. "I didn't physically check the crates, but basically yes. And it's not our collection, it's my collection. No offense."

"Wrong words." Becca mumbled under her breath, as she got comfy on the coach, texting Eve to ask how New York was.

Pepper shook her head. "You know what, I think I'm actually entitled to say 'our' collection considering the time that I put it-over ten years curating that."

"It's a tax write up. I needed that."

"You didn't even ask."

Tony stopped for a second. "Yes, you're right. I should have asked." He looked around her to see his daughter. "Becca, do you mind if I donate our art collection to a very good cause, that will help the young children of the world?"

"You're digging a bigger grave for yourself." She called out, eyes staying focused on her phone.

"Thank you, sweetheart." He replied back with the same sarcasm, before turning back to his assistant. "See, no problem here."

"You know, there's only about 8,011 things that I really need to talk to you about…"

Becca tuned them out at this point, after years of practice it just came so easy. Tony and Pepper were basically her ying and yang. Yes, they fought and argued about everything, point proven, but they flowed so well together. She wouldn't lie, when she was younger she honestly wished and hoped that one day the two would magically fall in love and live happily ever after. But as she grew up she understood that's not how things happen. But she could always hope.

"Ooh, no no no no! You are not taking down the Barnett Newman and hanging that up!"

Pepper's voice brought her back to reality as the two were now just a few feet away from her again.

"I'm not taking it down." Tony pushed glasses off the counter so he could jump up on top of it. "I'm just replacing it with this." It was a colored print of the Iron Man suit and he clearly needed it up in view.

Pepper shook her head, looking over at Becca to make sure she wasn't the only way seeing this. Becca merely gave a shrug as she now sat up. "Okay, fine." She looked back at Tony. "My point is, we have already awarded contracts to the wind farm people."

"Don't say wind farm, I'm already feeling gassy-"

"-And to the plastic plantation tree, which was your idea by the way. Those people are on payroll-"

"-Everything was my idea-" Tony still stood on the counter.

"-and you won't make a decision!"

"I don't care about the liberal agenda any more. It's boring. Boring. I'm giving you a boring alert." He jumped down from the cabinet to look her in the eyes. "You do it."

Pepper looked at him like he was ridiculous. "I do what?"

"Excellent idea. I just figured this out. You run the company."

"Yeah, I'm trying to run the company-"

"-Well, stop trying to do it and do it-"

"-You will not give me the information-"

"-I'm not asking you to try-"

Becca's head was hurting now listening to the two just talking over each other. And at that point she had had it. "Pepper!" The two shut up and looked at the younger girl, who wore a smile looking at the older women. "Run Stark Industries."

"What she said." Tony pointed at his daughter before looking back at the woman in front of him. "I'm trying to make you CEO. Why won't you let me?"

Pepper had to stop for a second and let the words of both Starks sit in. "Have you been drinking?"

Tony was now the one taken back by the question. "Uh, Chlorophyll." Becca was now the one looking confused by the words. "I hereby irrevocably appoint you chairman and CEO of Stark Industries effective immediately." He held her arms, the woman still in shock. "Yeah, done deal."

Becca bit her lip to calm the ever-growing smile that was about to take over her face at the announcement. She jumped from her spot to go to the small kitchenette, grabbing 3 glasses and a champagne bottle.

"I've actually given this a fair amount of thought, believe it or not." Tony walked over to Becca to grab the bottle and pop the cork. "Doing a bit of headhunting, so to speak, trying to figure out who a worthy successor would be. And then I realized it's you. It's always been you." Pepper slowly sunk into the chair by her. "Becca didn't want it-"

"-Oh, hell no." The brunette girl laughed, holding the glasses out for her father to pour.

"And because of that, I thought there'd be a legal issue, but actually I'm capable of appointing my successor. My successor being you."

Becca walked over and handed the still dumbstruck women her glass of champagne. "All we need is you to see yes." She kneeled down on the floor in front of the chair, while Tony squished in next to Pepper.

"Congratulations."

"I-I don't know what to think." Pepper's voice thick with emotions.

"Don't think, drink."

"The Tony Stark motto. Welcome." Becca gained a laugh from both of them. "So, is that a yes?"

"Yes, definitely yes." The three clinked their glasses before each taking a celebratory drink.

Pepper swallowed the bubbles, still not fully knowing how to handle the promotion. "Why me though?"

"Because you're family." Becca smiled at the woman that she had been looking up to for so many years now. "And our trust for anyone outside of the inner circle as kinda of been broken with everything that has happen."

"It's true." Tony agreed with what his daughter said. "You've be with me since almost the beginning. You helped raise Rebecca. You are family. And there's no one else I'd rather put in charge then you."

She couldn't tell if it was the words or her sickness that was making Pepper start to tear up. But the emotion that was in the small family was one of pure happiness.

"I'm officially back." Becca sighed, entering the shared office. She was expecting Natasha and Clint to be there, but she wasn't expecting Natasha to be packing. "And you're leaving?"

"The prodigal daughter returns!" Clint joked, getting a middle finger from said girl, as he threw a small ball in the air to catch.

"Welcome back and yes." Natasha put more items in the bag sitting on her desk. "I've been assigned on Undercover Ops."

Becca nodded, dropping her own bag on her own desk. "Always thrilling. What's the mission?"

"Don't know, haven't been briefed yet." The redhead kept her head down, finishing up the last of her packing. Becca found it awfully strange that she a) didn't know her mission yet when they are usually briefed automatically and b) Natasha very rarely talks with her head down. She was always one to look people in the eye when she was talking.

"Must be one important target, for you to even not know." Clint stated. It made Becca a little bit easier if Clint didn't even know what was going on.

"That or I'm probably looking after someone's egotistical son who doesn't understand what 'no' means." She zipped up her bag and threw it over her shoulder. "Alright, champs. Don't have too much fun while I'm gone."

"Good luck." Becca gave her a smile which she returned, giving a nod to Clint and then heading out the door. Becca waited a few seconds to make sure Natasha had really left before speaking again. "So that's kinda of weird, right? Not knowing where she's headed?"

"Not really." Clint finally placed the ball back on his desk before turning to look at her. "It usually happens when it's a really big client or mission head. That way she won't be able to tell anyone anything before to accidentally blow the cover."

She nodded, accepting the answer before finally collapsing in her chair. "You know what, dealing with my family for 3 days is more exhausting than a mission I have decided."

"Why, Ms. Stark, I have no idea what you mean?" He played off a fake girl voice to really get on her nerves.

"Must you annoy me?"

"You want to go throw some knives?"

"And that's how you reel me back in."

* * *

 

Up next: Becca's Graduation, Tony's Birthday, and a reveal.

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	7. Imposter

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Imposter! - The Technicolors

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

Here's the end of Iron Man 2 and let's get Becca's hands a little dirty. 1 more chapter away for our super soldier himself!

* * *

****

**Imposter**

_I'm not_

_Not gonna be_

_Just another trick up your sleeve_

_I've got all the secrets_

_All the secrets in the world_

_But I'm no impostor_

"I won't be late. I will not be late for my own graduation!"

"I'm driving as fast as I can! Don't blame me for New York traffic!"

Becca and Garrett have been yelling at each other back and forth for the past 2 hours since their drive back from Pennsylvania. They were assigned to a clean-up mission, AKA the upper agents got the head guys and they were assigned to finish off the small group that had been following them. It was supposed to be quick and painless, that's why the two lower agents were tasked. What they didn't expect was the multiple traps that had been set up all over the land of the shack in the back woods of PA.

After dismantling every single one and then finally taking out the last three guys in the house it was already 5AM. And Becca's ceremony was supposed to start at 9AM sharp. She had no doubt someone at SHIELD was going to be majorly pissed off at her for not heading their first for a debriefing, but right now she needed to end one chapter in her life to start the next one. She could deal with the punishment later.

"We're almost there." Garrett informed her from his position in the driver's seat.

Becca looked up from where she was in the back seat, attempting to modestly put on her dress for the day. She gave herself a pat on the back for deciding to bring along all the essentials she needed for the day just in case something like this would have happened.

"I know I've been yelling at you for the past few hours but you seriously are a life savior." She maneuvered her way back into the front seat, makeup bag in hand.

"I'm sure graduating college is a big deal, so I'll let it slide." He smiled over at her for a split second before looking back at the road.

"Never went to college?" Becca asked, trying to cover up a cut on her forehead.

"Went through a year before SHIELD came knocking. It was for the better. Was never that great with academics anyways."

"Well I think you've found your calling there. I wouldn't have been able to get through last night without you." She finished up her makeup and started on taming her hair.

"Right back at 'cha." Garrett swiftly kept driving through the streets, but not without taking quick glances at the girl sitting beside him. Ever since their encounter one year ago on her birthday, the two have quickly created a good friendship, but not without the subtle flirting that would once and awhile pop up between the two. It was just very easy to be together. "Alright, we're here." He pulled over to the bus zone to let her out.

"I literally can't thank you enough." She quickly leaned across the center console and pulled him into a quick hug, taking him back for a quick second.

"Yeah-yeah no problem."

She hopped out, grabbing her bags from the back seat before leaning in the front one last time. "Do I look like I've had no sleep in 2 days?" She joked, but was also deadly serious.

"You look like a knock-out."

"Interesting choice of words." Becca laughed, before once again thanking him and then proceeding to run across the court-square to get to the hall where the ceremony was taking place. Her bare feet slapped along stone of the steps, trying to look presentable at the people around her, but also really needing to get backstage ASAP.

"Where have you been? Rebecca Stark is never late!" Eve's eyes were wide as they finally landed on her best friend, flush cheeked and maneuvering through the backstage.

"If I told you, you'd never believe me." Becca dropped her bag, finally grabbing her black heels to slip on.

The blonde took a moment to watch her and her thoughts running wild through her head. But as she took notice to bag, the crazed-out hair, and the underlining vibe coming off her, Eve 'thought' she put it all together. "Oh my God, you were with that guy!"

The abrupt statement got a look from some of their classmates, but they were used to Eve's loudness and crude comments after 4 years now. Becca however was still that shy girl, her flushed cheeks now there for other reasons. "You're impossible."

"And you're not denying it. So…was it that Garrett guy?"

Eve had spotted the two out in the city one day and from then on she was determined to get her best friend some action. Becca had told her they just met the night of her birthday when their fight had taken place and they have become friend since. It wasn't a complete lie, just omitting certain truths. "Yes, and no nothing happen. We just hung out last night and I fell asleep at his place. That's it. Woke up late and he got me here on time. Case closed." She pulled her robe on along with her cords.

"Girl, you need to get on that. Literally."

Becca couldn't help the chuckle and slid her cap on over her brunette hair. Not long after, the class of 2010 was told to line up for the procession. As the trumpets start to play, announcing the beginning of the ceremony, the faculty started the line followed by the students. Becca followed her classmates, finally finding her father, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy in the auditorium as she got to her seat.

The class took their seats, letting the faculty take their turns speaking as well as the guest speaker for the morning. She didn't know if it was the lack of sleep or just living in a weird moment, she was lost in her thoughts. This was an ending of one chapter of her life and heading into a new one. A new one that was starting to change her entire outlook on life.

The walk across the stage started to begin. One row at a time students went up, got their name called, took their diploma and finally back to their seat. She was next. As she was about to move on to her new life.

"Rebecca Maria Stark."

At the sound of her name, Becca began to walk across the stage and clapping and 'woo'ing came from audience. She gave a handshake to the Dean before taking her booklet. As she stepped at the side of the stage to get a photo, her eyes dragged straight to where her family was sat. Most importantly where her father was the only one standing up, staring at her with hands clasped in front of his chest and a purely proud smile decorated across his face. She gave him a watery smile back, before traveling back to her seat.

Making her father proud was one of her greatest trials in life. Not that it was hard for him. Everything she did he was always in aww from her. But this right here was a milestone in her life that she had done all by herself. That she had pushed and screamed and cried and worked her damn hardest to do since she was 6 years old. Telling her daddy that she wanted to be a ballerina and he responded with 'whatever you want, baby girl' and it was in stone. She didn't give up.

"And 1, 2, 3. Smile!"

Becca gave her giant smile, holding her diploma in front of her as Tony took the millionth picture of his daughter. The family was standing at the Hearst Plaza in front of the sculpture in the water so the Julliard sign was present in the background.

"Okay, I think we've had them all." Tony was looking over the hundreds of photos he had taken.

"No, we're missing one." Becca fixed her hair in the wind that was coming around the buildings. "You and me, dad."

"Go, I've got this." Pepper pushed Tony away after she grabbed the camera from him.

The two Starks saddled up next to each other, smiles wide for the camera. "I'm so proud of you, Rebecca."

Becca turned fully to her father now. His face was almost overly emotionless, like he was trying extra hard not to show anything. "Dad-"

"-I just…I want you to know that, Becca. You've grown into a beautiful young woman who has the world in her hand. Don't crush it, embrace it." He delicately tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Just remember that…for whatever it's worth."

"It's worth everything to me. Dad, is something wrong?" It was all around a happy day, but that dread that she had been feeling around her father lately was back. And for once she honestly didn't know why. There was no real reason she could see through.

"No, nothing's wrong. Just um…" Tony cleared his throat, eyes looking around them for a split second. "Did that speech get you to change your mind about Monaco?"

Becca laughed and rolled her eyes, knowing he was being sarcastic but let him play through it. She would figure out his underlying threat soon.

* * *

After the events in Monaco, where Her father was attacked by the crazed, Ivan Vanko, Becca's spotlight had grown again in New York. People constantly following her and asking questions regarding the Iron Man suit or if Tony was capable of watching over the US like he says he is. It was a down right nightmare all over again like when he had first announced he was Iron Man. This time however, Becca knew how to slip into crowds without being noticed. But for her own safety and to make her family, mostly Pepper, feel better she had taken the Stark jet out to Malibu for her father's birthday that was going to be a surprise.

Despite not wanting to get involved in the craziness of the media, she wanted to celebrate with her father and most importantly check in to see everyone was staying safe in the 'humble' mansion. She was running late, she honestly didn't even think she was going to make it but the plane landed on the tarmac hopefully early enough to not miss too much of the party, even though she knew it was going to be a drunken mess by the time she got there. Not unusual.

She had changed and got ready on the plane so when she stepped off the step she was thrilled to see her uncle's car waiting for her.

"No Happy?" She asked Rhodey who was leaning against the driver's side door waiting for her.

"I thought this would be easier for the both of us." Rhodey gave his niece a quick hug before grabbing her bag to put in the trunk.

"What you really mean is you want to complain about my father before we get there?" She smiled at him as he closed the trunk.

"Get in the car, we're late." He chuckled, and went to the driver's side.

"Sir, yes, sir." She fell down into the passenger seat and let him get out onto the highway before starting to interrogate him. But it was more of Rhodey trying to talk out why Tony was being the way he was. Which is honestly something people had been asking his entire life. But this time it was more intense and had a higher risk of suicidal tendencies.

Becca couldn't say much. She hadn't been around all the much in the past 2 years because of school and SHIELD and she honestly just hoped that that had nothing to do with it. She loved her father. She would always love her father. And others did too, it just depending on what Tony Stark you were privy to. A few miles from the house Rhodey got a call from his superior, and from her side of the conversation it sounds like Rhodey was officially playing middle man between Tony and the US Government.

"Yes, sir I understand." Rhodey spoke, pulling to the front of the house. "No. No sir, that will not be necessary. I'll handle it. Sir, I personally guarantee that within 24 hours, Iron Man will be back on watch."

That statement fully got Becca's attention looking over at the man sitting next to her in worry. This whole thing was becoming a bigger mess than expected. The two got out of the car, Rhodey handing the Valet his keys. The two made their way into the house, finding people everywhere you looked dressed in cocktail attire. It didn't take long to find Pepper just inside of the hallway towards the entertainment room.

"Pepper!" Becca smiled wide, rushing over to hug the older women. But not without noticing her forlorn face.

"Oh, honey, you actually made it." Pepper squeezed her again before pulling out of the hug to give an uneasy look to Rhodey.

"What's wrong?" The man asked, eyebrows furrowed in question.

She shook her head, grabbing a hold of Becca's hand and giving her a sympathetic smile. "Why don't the two of us get some air, catch up for a bit."

At her words, Becca automatically understood the problem in the situation. "Where is he?" She recalled sometimes as a kid when the two would try to pretend like nothing was wrong whenever her father lost control. They would get her out of the house, going to the beach or somewhere to keep her mind busy while the former would handle the situation with Tony.

Pepper nodded, showing them to the main room where the party was being held with the DJ. "I don't know what to do." She said, more towards Rhodey than anything.

"You gotta be kidding me…"Rhodey's voice became hostile at the sight.

Becca finally got a good look at the scene in front of them. Tony was dressed in his Iron Man suit and was a stumbling drunk. He was falling over himself, tripping into their glass cabinet and just getting applause from the crowd. They were leading him on more and more.

"That's it, I'm making-"

"-No, don't." Becca grabbed her uncle's arm before he walked off. "Please don't call anyone, we don't need anything like that."

"Becca, this is ridiculous! You heard the conversation in the car, I just stuck my neck out for this guy!"

"I know, I know."

"I'm gonna handle it." Pepper spoke up from between them. "Just…just let me handle it."

"Handle it. Or I'm going to have to."

Pepper nodded, before making her way into the sea of a drunken mess of people.

"You know the question I get asked most often is 'Tony, how do you go to the bathroom in the suit?'" Tony spoke on the DJ stage, mic in hand. He waited a second for continuing. "Just like that."

That childish behavior somehow gained more cheers from people, like they would cheer him on for anything just to be on his side of things. It's was disgusting.

Pepper finally made it onto the stage, laughing along with Tony to not make him upset or feel like he was being attacked, and grabbed the microphone. "Does this guy know how to throw a party or what?"

After another cheer, Tony drunkenly moved into the microphone again. "I l-love you…"

Pepper laughed it off and kept going, not dealing with his drunken words. "Unbelievable! Thank you so much. Tony, we all thank you so much for such a wonderful night. And we're gonna say good night now, and thank you all for coming."

This finally got the to crowd to groan in disappointment. At that point Pepper put the microphone behind her so the two could start discussing things.

"I'm going to go upstairs, I don't want to see this." Becca told Rhodey, who nodded, before she made her way to the stairs. She kept her face down, hoping not to get anyone's attention. She was just climbing the stairs behind the frosted glass before she heard her father tell the crowd the party was over, but the after party was just beginning.

That's when then blast came from her father's glove, shattering the glass next to her, making Becca out of instinct crouch down and cover her head with her arms. She could feel pieces of the glass fall around her and shower on top of her. Nothing crazy, just felt like small scraps in anything. She looked up finally, eyes meeting her father's bloodshot ones.

"Holy Shit! My daughter everyone!" He giggled, getting a cheer from the crowd again, the group of people severely getting on her last nerve. "Well now it's a party!" At that it just got even worse, a girl throwing bottle in the air for him to blow apart and just overall stupid nonsense.

As Becca was shaking her hair out, her hazel eyes fell onto a pair of green ones she knew very, very well. That along with the bright red hair gave her away automatically. Becca didn't need to do a double take to find her colleague in the sea of people.

Natasha Romanoff.

Natasha's eyes widen and began to maneuver her way through the crowd trying to get out, but Becca wasn't letting her out of her sight. The secret spy careful got off her glass covered staircase and followed behind. It was hard to let the vibrant curly hair out of her vision. She finally caught up to her, the heels not in Natasha's advantage, and grabbed her arm. Neither said anything, Natasha just allowed her confidant to pull her into the kitchen where it was slightly less filled with people.

"What are you doing here?" Becca turned towards her once they were in a corner away from most, arms crossing against her chest.

"Look, I can explain-"

"You can explain why you're in my house, clearly dressed for this party," she gestured to the animal print cocktail dress the assassin wore, "and didn't tell me? You can explain all of that?"

Natasha couldn't tell if she was angry or just overwhelmed by finding her here. Probably a bit of both. "Yes, I didn't do this on purpose, Bex."

"Is this your mission from Fury that you supposedly didn't know anything about?"

"I wasn't allowed to tell you. You weren't even supposed to be here this weekend, I was trying to keep you out of this lie if anything happened."

"But this is my family, Tasha." Her arms going wide from her sides, trying to make her point known. "This isn't just a random rogue mission."

"Hence why Fury didn't want to get you involved." Natasha's voice turned stern, her arms now the one's crossed over her chest. "I've been playing shadow around here once Pepper became CEO to try to keep your father under control so SHIELD didn't have to clean up a bigger mess than we have to."

Becca shook her head, sucking her bottom lip in between her teeth. Her hands were itching from anger with her father becoming this way, from Natasha lying to her, and just being so out of the loop in everything that was 'happening' in her life. "You're still lying."

Natasha tilted her head, she wasn't going to show it but she was actually surprised that Becca could read through her so easily. That wasn't something she was used to from other people. "Becca-"

"I'm only going to say this once. Get out!" The red head was cut off by Rhodey's voice booming through the house, clearly from the living room again.

Becca saw the people in the kitchen still and look around at each other wondering if everyone was actually going to leave. "You heard him, get out!" Becca yelled this time, making the guests scurry out of the kitchen. That's when the sound of things being demolished filled the house. Becca looked at Natasha again before rolling her eyes and walking around her. "I can't believe I actually thought SHIELD was going to be good for me."

"Says the girl who's been lying to her family for the past two years."

Becca hesitated in her step, but didn't let the words completely fault her even though they were completely true. The two girls stalked through the house, seeing the crowd now outside staring in through the glass windows and Pepper in a frenzy on the other side of the house.

"Oh, Becca, are you okay?" Her voice shaken after watching the glass shatter over the young girl.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it." Becca pushed it off, trying to give her less to worry about.

"Ms. Potts-" Natasha brought of up the rear.

"-Don't you 'Miss Potts' me! I'm onto you." Pepper's voice turned back to aggravation at the sight of the new assistant. The two SHIELD agents didn't know what exactly she meant by that, and there was a complete second of nervousness. "You know what? Ever since you came here-"

She was cut off by the ceiling crashing in above them with Tony and Rhodey, both clad in iron suits. Pepper backed away with a shriek while Becca and Natasha both automatically went on guard. Happy immediately ran into room and grabbed Pepper and Becca to get them out of the way of the two that continued fighting. At that point, she had lost sight of Natasha knowing that the girl easily got out of the house without anyone noticing.

"Let's get the two of you out of here." Happy started to lead the two women away from the house.

"You guys go." Becca stopped, knowing she couldn't leave.

Pepper and Happy both halted, looking back at her confused. "What? Becca-"

"Get out of here, I'll take care of this."

Pepper stepped towards her again, eyes still filled with worry. "You shouldn't have to always handle this by yourself. He needs to be the one to change."

Becca gave them a shrug followed by a soft smile. "It's what family does."

After her comment, the crowd were screaming and running off in the direction of their cars. Just to get out of their as soon as possible. Becca took that as her cue to run back to where everyone was leaving. From her spot on the patio behind the glass, she watched her father pull himself head first out of the fireplace. He rose his hand to Rhodey while he did it right back, both of them not backing down from the other. As she could see the both of them harboring energy into the glove at once another, she knew she wouldn't survive the aftermath of the blast where she stood. As the two iron men's blast were forming together, Becca was running full force to the side of the patio. Right as she threw her body over the side to protect herself behind the concrete wall, the blast exploded above her, shattering and destroying everything in sight.

It became unnervingly quiet in the warm night air. She slowly stood from her spot, catching Rhodey in his suit take off into the night sky. Becca ran around the large concrete wall to where the steps were located. Her eyes taking in the debris everywhere she looked. Her heart pounding against her chest seeing Tony still in the suit, laying still against the now burnt out fireplace.

"Dad!" Her feet crunching against the shattered glass on the floor as she made her way to his side. "Dad, are you okay?"

He didn't move or take the helmet off, just continued to look past her. "What are you still doing here?"

She carefully kneeled down beside him. "What-I'm here for you. I'm not going to leave you."

"Well you should." His voice was so deep coming from his suit, almost lifeless.

Her face dropped, eyes shiny glass. "No-"

"-You need to leave." He pulled himself up finally and walked out to the patio, leaving her still on the ground. "Go back to New York, Rebecca. Stay there. Stay away from all of this."

She was holding back tears, biting her lips into her mouth to try to stay calm as her father basically told her to get away from him and make it stay like that. "Why are you doing this?" Her voice giving out on her as she called out.

The Iron Man's bright eyes finally looked at her for a second before answering. "Because you're better off." With that comment his suit powered up and he followed Rhodey's path into the darkened sky.

Becca felt like she was suffocating as the one person she thought of as her home flew away from her. Like she didn't mean anything at all. Now she sat in her destroyed childhood house with tears streaming down her face. Feeling once against completely alone, questioning why she even tries so hard.

* * *

It had been 3 days since the incident and Becca had all but secluded herself from earth's population. She hadn't had a genuine conversation with anyone, but the small few words with the lady at the market when she was checking out. She was trying to find her balance in a world that was tearing her apart. Becca was never one to start an argument, never one to throw someone to the wolves. She believed in second chances and finding the purity in someone underneath the surface. But that didn't mean she was naive to the corrupt in the world. It was all about give and take, finding that balance.

So, what was her balance?

She had found herself in the basement gym of SHIELD later in the day. Training was over for the day and agents were taking a break or switching shifts. She took the solace of the empty room allowing her shoulders to finally fall from their place pulled towards her ears. She sat down in the corner of the room, the wooden floor cold underneath her. Becca pulled out her phone and searched through to find the playlist she wanted at the moment, the soft plucks of guitar rang through the room as 'Youth' by Daughter creeped into the silence.

Becca let her body roll out, opening the joints and stretching her muscles. Before she knew it, her body having a mind of its own, began to follow the movements of the song. It had started out as a floor routine before slowly peeling herself up and rushing around the room in twirls and leaps. It was a song that she had made a routine to before and it was hard not to give in to muscle memory.

She held the final pose as the song came to the end, her eyes focused on the dark ceiling above her. Her breaths coming in deep steady flow, feeling her anxiety wash off of her body. The concentration was broken at the sound of clapping, making her twist in the direction of the sound and her body falling out of position. Becca found Garrett near the door, a smile on his face and still slow clapping.

"No wonder they gave you a degree." He commented, hands now coming to rest in his front pockets.

"How long have you been standing there?" She suddenly became shy under his gaze, not knowing what to do with her hands.

"Let's just say, your concentration is impeccable when you are zoned out. That routine was beautiful."

"Well, thank you. I didn't think anyone would be coming down here tonight." Becca picked at the end of her ponytail.

His brown eyes tried to search hers, but he could tell she was holding back again. He always had such a hard time reading her. "I didn't mean to interrupt you. I can go if you want me to."

"It's okay."

"It's okay but I want you to leave or it's okay you can stay?"

She finally smiled at him trying to get a read on her that she knew was bothering him. It always had. "You don't have to leave."

Garrett chuckled, taking a few steps closer to her. "You doin' okay, Bex?"

Looking up she couldn't believe how much closer he had gotten to her in just that one question. She wouldn't deny the fact that there was an attraction there between them, making her flustered when they were alone together. But feeling emotionally drained this past week she didn't want to do something she would ever regret. Especially something that would harm each of their futures in SHIELD, and at that point Becca didn't even know where she stood with this organization after everything that has been happening.

"You can talk to me, Becca. I'm kind of a good listener." He barely whispered to her, letting his hand come up to gently push a stray hair out of her eyes. He was too close for her own good and his eyes kept glancing towards her lips, making her nerves spark faster with each look and each feel of his skin on hers.

The sound of her phone ringing from the floor, interrupted the two of them. His hand fell back to his side and her head ducked in embarrassment from not even getting caught, but just the feeling of it. He chuckled at her response, clearly knowing she was thinking the same thing he was at the moment. She rushed over to her phone, seeing Natasha's name written across it. She thought about it for a second, but decided to not act like a child and answer her call. She was still her superior despite their argument.

"I need your help!"

Becca barely got out a hello before Natasha's dramatic response came through from the other line. "Nat, what's going on?"

"We've had a problem at the expo. Justin Hammer's put together a band of iron men and they are currently after Tony and Rhodey."

"What the hell!" Her abrupt curse took Garrett by surprise. "He's not smart enough to do that."

"It's Ivan Vanko. He's behind all of it! How fast can you get to Hammer Industries?" Natasha's voice sounded like she was struggling as she explained.

"I can be there in 10 minutes." She started throwing all of her stuff in her bag.

"If you can be there in 5 I swear to God I'll owe you an extreme girl's night out, all-expenses paid."

Becca laughed and raced out of the room, Garrett on her heels. "Unnecessary. But you do owe me some truth."

"I know. I'm sorry, Bex."

"It's good. I'll be there soon."

"Go about it your way from the top down."

Becca hung up the phone and barged into their gear room.

"What the hell is going on?" Garrett stood at the door watching her rush from one side to another grabbing all of her equipment.

"Sorry, Agent Romanoff needs my help ASAP on a mission. Can we talk later?" She didn't even care that he was still standing there as she peeled off her first layer of clothes and started pulling on her suit. This was her latest design. They were upgrading her each time, trying to make it breathable for her to slink her way through tight spots but also durable enough for fighting and handling all of her arsenal.

It was very similar to Natasha's had more pockets on her legs, arms, and abdomen where she could store her different types of knives. She had a holster on each hip for two guns and her utility belt held extra ammunition at this moment. For instance, she knew blood really shouldn't be spilt on this outing, so she grabbed to batons to give her some upper hand strength. It would change varying on the mission. She had boots that carried more knives and had a backup rope that came in handier then she thought.

"You need help?"

"No, we got it." She smiled tightening her ponytail walking over to him. "I'll see you later." She squeezed his forearm before taking off towards the garage. There was no way she would have gotten there faster without grabbing one of the motorcycles, that way she could weave in and out of traffic at her own pace. It wasn't a far distance to Hammer Industries so she was hoping she wouldn't draw to much of a scene.

She did one lap around the entire building before parking her bike in the alley where it would be easier for her to scale the building. Jumping from garbage can to air conditioning unit and so on and so on she pulled her body to the top of the building stealthily. Becca found the central air duct and carefully maneuvered her body down into the small crawl space. She army crawled until she found the first vent, taking a look through to see one guard walking back and forth, twirling walkie talkie in his hand, clearly board from his shift. She waited patiently until he was directly under her before she dropped down, her hands holding the vent while she swung her legs into his body to where his head collided hard with the plater of the wall, knocking him out in the process. She let her body drop to the ground, taking a look up and down the hallway.

Agent Bex had no clue on which way she needed to go, but if she was looking for a control panel she had no doubt it would be in a secure area in the middle of the building. That seemed to be the way people set up their weapons stations she had found out after the few years now of working from mission to mission. She took the stairwell down taking by surprise the three men that she found on the other side of the door.

"Hey fellas. Want to tell a girl where she can find Ivan Vanko?" She gave them a sugary-sweet smile.

The three advanced on her at once. Just as they were at her, she easily slipped under the second guy's legs, taking out his knee in the process. With number two being down, she jumped back up and stepped on his back to take advantage of the height difference in number one. She jumped up and wrapped her arm around his neck, before using both of their weight to drive him face first into the ground. At that, number 3 had an advantage on her and grabbed her legs. He proceeded to start dragging her down the hall. She couldn't pull or push her legs in her advantage. Having no other choice, she pulled one of her ring daggers from her sleeve. She flipped it around her pointer finger before hurling straight into the man's right shoulder. Number three cried out in pain before dropping her and then himself to his knees. Becca scrambled up and crashed her knee into his face to knock him out as well.

She easily pulled the blade from the man's arm, wiping his blood on his coat before keeping up down hallway. At hearing a large bang, almost like a door being slammed, she made her way down the last hallway the door 8032 easily labeled for controls. She held up her knife and slowly turned the knob to push the door opened. She was prepared to see the Russian man, but all she found were two men hung up from the ceiling and the main controls chair empty. She closed the door hoping to not find a scene before taking a look at the 5 monitors all projecting something different. It was honestly confusing her more than anything as she tried to understand the mission that she was just drug into no more than 20 minutes ago.

The door slammed against the wall behind Becca, getting her to turn around prepared with the knife still in one hand and her gun in the other. She was met with Natasha, two guns aimed and ready to fight, and one very confused man behind her.

"Becca!" Happy's eyes were the size of saucers as she saw the younger girl first of all here and second of all holding weapons up to them.

"Hey Hap." She stuck her gun back in her holster and twirled her dagger before slipping that into her pocket. "Nice of you to show up." She smiled sarcastically at Natasha who rushed towards the computers as well.

"Where is he?" Her redhead began to work away on the system.

"Not a clue, but he obviously knew we were here." She pointed to the two monitors that had views from cameras stationed around the building.

Happy still stood confused beyond belief behind the two women. "What the hell is going on? Becca what are you doing here? How did you get here? You two know each other?" The questions just kept coming out one after another.

"I'll explain later Happy." She patted the older man's shoulder with smile before turning back to Natasha. "What is the plan?"

"Well, first I'm trying to reboot Rhodey's suit. Ivan had full control over him."

Becca studied her process, finding more things she needed to start working on tomorrow to heighten her technique. The system access window opened on the computer, letting them know he had control again. Another window popped up, showing her father inside of his suit. Seeing her father again after the fight they had almost made her walk out of the room, but she knew they were something bigger going on around them right now.

"Reboot complete. You've got your best friend back." Natasha told him.

"Thank you, Agent Romanoff." He said, almost not wanting to but knowing he had to.

"Don't give me all the thanks." Nat gently nudged the girl next to her to speak up, knowing it had to be done now that Happy knew she was someone other than the ballerina.

"Hey dad." Becca's voice came out almost childlike again.

"Becca? Oh, for the love of God, please don't tell me they got a hold of you?" His voice was rushed and concerned, completely different from the last time they talked.

"Not exactly. Look we can talk about it later."

"You're damn right we can talk about it later!" He glared, not able to see them but knowing they could see him.

Natasha noticing the tension decided this was the perfect time to amp it up a bit, taking the steam off of Becca and throwing it at Tony. "Well done on the new chest piece. I am reading significant higher output and your vitals all look promising." She said, feeling Becca's confused face on her.

"Yes, for the moment, I'm not dying. Thank you." His voice held irritation, clearly annoyed to be talking about it with his daughter present.

"What?" Becca's voice exclaimed.

"What do you mean you're not dying? Did you just say you're dying?" Pepper appeared on another screen to the right also shocked by the words.

"Is that you?" Tony asked casually knowing full well it was her. "No, I'm not. Not anymore."

"What is going on?" Becca looked back and forth between everyone.

"I was going to tell you. I didn't want to alarm the both of you-"

"-You were gonna tell us? You really were dying!"

"You didn't let me." He argued with his daughter.

"Was that before or after you told me not to come home?"

"Why didn't you tell me that?" Pepper now stepped in.

"I was gonna make you an omelette and tell you!" Tony's aggravation increasing because of the two women that meant the most to him in the world.

Natasha decided to step in. "Hey, hey. Save it for the honeymoon. You got incoming Tony. Looks like the fight's coming to you."

"Great. Pepper, Bec?"

"Are you okay now?" Becca asked, wanting to really know.

"I am fine. Don't be mad. I will formally apologize-"

"I am mad!" The two said simultaneously.

"-when I'm not fending off a Hammeroid attack!"

"Fine." Pepper deadpanned.

"We could have been in Venice."

"Oh please." Her voice full of irritation.

"Pepper, where are you?" Becca asked.

"Still at the expo."

"All right, I'm coming to you." Becca checked her things before heading to the door.

"Woah! Not so fast." Happy finally spoke up again. "You are not going out there by yourself."

She smiled at him, give him a kiss on the cheek before springing out of the room. Not enough time for him to catch up. She made it to her bike and stared the drive to the park. She got there fairly quick, but was stopped at the police barricade not allowing any vehicles to get in. She threw off her helmet and started running towards the convention center. The sound of beeping stopped her in her tracks. It was loud and sound almost detonating type of beep. She saw one bodies that she assumed was part of the machine's that Hammer and Vanko had created not far from her. The center was lighting up a dark red and that was where the beating was coming from.

Before she knew what was happening, strong metal was picking her up and flying her through the air. If her breathe hadn't been knocked out of her she would have screamed. She didn't even have enough time to see what was happening before she was placed on the roof of a building high enough away from the explosions that started around the city. Becca swallowed deeply before looking up to see Rhodey in his suit.

"Never do that again without a warming." She tried to calm her stomach before she puked and sat down on the ventilation box.

"Noted." Rhodey breathed out his own sigh of relief from first of all getting out of that alive and second from being able to save his niece. He took a seat next to her. The two watching as another object came flying towards them, seeing it as Tony and Pepper.

Pepper screamed and pushed him off of her as Tony's suit seemed to be having an electrical surge throughout. He pulled his helmet off and threw it on the ground, fixing the problem for now.

"Oh my God, I can't take this anymore!" Pepper's hands covering her eyes, nearly having a panic attack.

"You can't"

"I can't take this."

"Look at me!" Tony motioned to the rundown suit he was wearing.

"My body, literally, cannot handle the stress. I never know if you're gonna kill yourself or-or-or wreak the whole company."

"I think I did okay." He said as there is another explosion in the background.

Pepper shook her head excessively. "I quit. I'm resigning. That's it."

"What did you just say? You're done?" Tony thought about it walking closer to her. "That's surprising. No, it's not surprising. I get it. You don't have to make excuses."

"I'm…I'm-I'm not making any excuses."

"You actually were just making excuses. But you don't have to."

"No, I wasn't making an excuse. I'm actually very justified."

"Hey, hey, hey." He spoke softer, trying to settle her nerves. "You deserve better."

"Well…" She looked down, Tony taking her hand in his metal one. "You've taken such good care of me. I've been in a tough spot, but you got me through it, so…right?"

"Thank you." Pepper whispered finally really looking at him. "Thank you for understanding."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's talk clean-up." He moved forward, clearly not wanting to dwell on it.

"I'll handle the transition. It'll be smooth."

"Okay. What about the press? Because you only had the job for a week. That's gonna seem-"

"-well, with you it's like dog years."

"I know."

"I mean, it's like the Presidency-"

Tony barely let her finish before bringing her into a bruising kiss. Rhodey and Becca, the two outsiders of this had very different opinions. Rhodey rolled his eyes, while Becca did the natural response of throwing a hand over her mouth to try to keep the screams of excitement to a lull. She was actually watching a dream of hers come true after so many years.

"Weird." Tony stated after the two broke apart.

"No, it's not weird." Pepper smiled up at him.

"It's okay, right?"

"Yeah."

"Run that by me again." He pulled her into another kiss.

"I think it was weird." Rhodey spoke up, breaking the two apart in embarrassment. "You guys look like two seals fighting over a grape."

"I… had a just quit." Pepper stumbled through her words, not knowing they were there for it all.

"Yes, so we're not-" Tony tried to continue for her.

Rhodey shook his head, while Becca still sat there living in a high. "You don't have to do that. We heard the whole thing."

"You should get lost."

"I was here first. Get a roof."

"I thought you were out of one-liners."

"That's the last one."

Tony chuckled, and looked at his daughter. "Becca, you okay."

Her smile was so wide she couldn't barely hold anything back. "Oh my God. Can I go pick out my Maid of Honor dress now?"

* * *

If you couldn't tell, Becca is the #1 Pepperony fan!

Up next: Becca and Tony have a serious talk, What really happen in Budapest, and there is a God among us.

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR MY REBECCA!**


	8. Half

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Half - PVRIS

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

This is the end of 2010, 2011, & the very beginning of 2012 to get you ready for the next chapter.

Our man of the hour is about to make his first appearance...are you ready!

* * *

****

**Half**

_Some days I feel everything, others are numbing_

_Can never find the in between, it's all or nothing_

_I never, never, never, never said I wanted_

_Never wanted to be here now_

_One foot in the grave, other on the ground_

_I can't process what I'm feeling now_

_This skin I can do without_

_**June 2010** _

The downtown Chinese Restaurant was buzzing during a late dinner rush. Everyone was talking, eating, laughing, just all around having a good time around them. While the father and daughter sat across from each other picking at their food, avoiding conversation which was odd for the small family. Becca played with the Lo Mein on her place with the chopsticks between her fingers, eyes dodging back and forth between her food and her father. It was never quiet between the two, Tony usually filling up the empty silence. But this time, nothing. They hadn't had a legitimate conversation since everything went down at the Expo a few days prior.

Becca opened her mouth to say something but closed it once again. She had let out a deep sigh that gained Tony's quick attention.

"How's your dim sum?" He broke the awkward silence, yet her eyes didn't leave the plate as she answered.

"It's good." She took a sip of water before attempting to keep the conversation up. "How's Pepper handling things?"

He tilted his head back and forth in a so-so way. "Alright. More publicity fires to manage that anything. The normal when dealing with me." He set his own chopsticks down and crossed his arms on the table, food forgotten. "The abnormal is dealing with the fact that the girl that she has been looking after almost the entirety of the girl's like has now found out she is a secret spy."

Becca finally looked up at those words, seeing the intensity in his brown eyes. Those words were fully his concern, just masking it on the women. "True." She shrugged, playing along.

"Were you ever going to tell me that you're working for SHIELD?"

She rose an eyebrow at his sudden bluntness. "Well, probably around the same time you were going to tell me you were dying, Dad."

Tony looked over her once before shaking his head. "You are so my daughter. But this isn't something you have been hiding for only a few months, thought."

"You're right. I have been hiding this for two years." She finally set down her own cutlery. "I wasn't dying though, being reckless, and pushing everyone away in the process."

He knew she was mostly talking back to the night of his birthday party. "I'm sorry I did that, Bec. There is no excuse for me to act like that to you. I just didn't want you to see me get worse." Tony's knuckles ran across the plate in the middle of his chest on her shirt. "But your SHIELD friends seemed to have helped me out with that."

"You swear?" Becca's eyes clouded over, remembering a very similar promise coming from him when he returned from being held hostage.

"I swear to you. I'm fine." He watched a family sit down a table away from them. The young girl with pigtails reminded him of his own daughter now sitting across from him as a grown woman. "You aren't getting out of this that easy."

She leaned back, pulling a hand through her hair, feeling tired from the conversation already. "I never expected to."

"Two years." He murmured the words, letting them sink in before really demanding an answer. "Two years, Becca? How did you even manage this?"

"A lot of help from good people." Sure, she had her moments of uncertainty in this organization, but they honestly dealt with so much from her to keep her hidden. She owed a great deal to Clint, Natasha, Coulson, and Fury. "This was something that was brought to my attention. I didn't go looking for it."

"From the beginning." He spun his fingers in a circle to get her to start at the foundation of her story.

"I'm only going to explain this if you promise to not get upset or throw a fit with me." Her eyes were dead set, something he realized that she had picked up from Pepper many years ago now.

"Becca, you are a grown adult. I can't tell you what to do or not do."

She nodded, fingers playing with the cloth napkin in her lap. "That doesn't mean your opinion doesn't matter to me still."

She started the story from the beginning, how Coulson met her at school to Clint saving her life, to training, meeting Natasha, missions. All of it. She saved from telling him some harder missions, knowing he wouldn't approve much of them. For the most part Tony sat back, quiet, taking in everything his daughter had to tell him. He was always attentive with her, always making sure to not just acknowledge but listen intently to everything she ever had to say to him. Separating his childhood from hers this way.

"Knives? Really?" That was his first comment after letting her tell her story.

The brunette rolled her eyes, a chuckle leaving her lips. "Yes, knives. They're more intricate."

"Never one to back down from a challenge." Tony shook his head with his own laugh. If he didn't laugh he was sure he was going to lose it over his daughter, his baby girl, officially putting her life on the line. One thing was present on his mind more than others. "So that guy that tried to attack you, do you know who he was?"

Becca shrugged. "No. Neither did Clint. We just assumed it was something trying to get to you actually."

"Oh, he was trying to get to me." He cleared his throat, his hand coming up to smooth over his goatee. "Two weeks before everything with Obi, right?"

"…yeah."

"He  _was_  working for Obi. Goddamn it-" Now the anger was present but it wasn't directed to her. "-he-he had threatened me about you. Saying something about you being across the states and not being able to stop what was coming. But nothing had happened to you, at least you had told me. So, I thought it was all talk."

Even from his grave, Obadiah Stan could make her father's blood boil.

"It's over. Nothing to worry about anymore." Becca finally repicked up her chopsticks. She felt weightless for the first time in two years. Having her father finally in the know made her breath just a bit easier. "So…you and Pepper."

"Must you?" He grumbled picking back at his own food, noticing how she had changed the subject again.

"Yes!" The easiness back between the Stark family. "I've literally been dreaming about this since I was a little girl. My two-favorite people being together. There's nothing better."

Tony held a hand across his mouth, hiding the smile at watching his daughter gush over the possibility. He was beyond thrilled to know she was just as happy with the budding relationship as the two were. Things seemed to be looking up for the moment for the Stark family.

* * *

_**July 2011** _

You know when you do something and you don't realize what the actual outcome of it will be until it's over. Where you will then have to sit with your actions, with the gut-wrenching actions you had to do. All Becca could say was she did it survive. She did those things to stay alive. She had to literally fight for her life.

Her feet body followed behind Natasha, while Clint followed behind her. The three of them had their heads down, no talking between them and no eye contact out of their unit. They played follow the leader from the jet they left and back downstairs to their office. The threesome barely making it through their door and to their desks to fall down at each. Thankfully Clint had enough energy to slam the door behind him, making it perfectly clear they didn't want to be disturbed.

Becca dropped her bag with a heavy thud to the ground and her body followed after. She didn't want to sit at her desk, knowing that involved using more strength to keep herself up right, so her back against the wall behind her desk and her arms and legs splayed out along with it. The other two had very similar ideas. Natasha had fallen onto the couch on her back, eyes staring lifeless at the ceiling while Clint took a very similar idea to Becca but was face first on the floor, using his bloody arms to hold his head off the cool linoleum.

Budapest, Hungary had got the best of them.

There was nothing easy or simple or fun about the mission that they had been on for the past 48 hours. It was difficult, it was torture and it was a blood bath. After months and months of research and crosschecking points, they had found another head of Ten Rings. He was starting to gain popularity and gaining more and more followers than there were civilians. He needed to be stopped before it was completely take over from there.

The problem was as Team Delta took their ground in the city, they were ambushed almost immediately. As if the terrorist group had known the entire time of their plans to infiltrate. It was a full out brawl in the streets, business' and homes. Death and destruction had been left in their wake without a thought of it as the war was happening. At some point in the hand to hand combat, Becca remembered Clint telling the two of them through their coms that he had the leader in his sights as she was clipped with a bullet. As she screamed out in pain, she turned on her toe and launched her knife right at the man to take him down.

At remembering the one of many injuries, she took a glance at her left shoulder, seeing the bloodied leather and torn apart skin in her wake. She needed stiches ASAP but the thought of ever moving again made her even more sick.

Neither of the three moved a muscle as their door opened and closed softly again. She didn't need to look up to know it was Coulson who had entered the room. It was normal from him to immediately find his team directly after they returned from a mission, whether it be big or small. Becca had also taken comfort in his cologne. Coulson always smelled of spicy and warmth, and it made her feel in control of her body again, knowing that he was there meant they had survived another day.

"Injury report?" He asked the question first every time. Not asking about the details of the mission or anything of the sorts. Phil Coulson wanted to know first and foremost that his agents/companions had come back in a resemblance of one piece.

"Ribs." Natasha whispered, taking as steady of breaths as she could. She knew she didn't break them or fracture them, but they were sorely bruised to the point of immense pain from simply breathing.

"Shoulder and knees." Becca explained, the bullet wound in her shoulder while her knees were almost down to the bone from scrapping them from sliding across the gravel at one point.

"To many cuts to tell." Clint finished, basically talking to the ground but was heard just fine. It was true, from being thrown through a window that's what would happen to you.

Coulson cleared his throat and leaned back against the door to let his team rest. He was proud of them. He always was. It took a certain mindset and skillset to do the things the three were able to do in a short amount of time. But now was his time to get these agents back up and move along.

"This was tough. The casualties were higher than anyone ever wants, but that's what it takes to survive." His voice soft in the dark room, letting them each regain their own consciousness. "You time and time again put yourselves in harm's way and SHIELD-" he thought about his words for a second and went back on them, "-I can't be grateful for you enough. The three of you are the strongest agents we have. You saved the civilians in Budapest today. That's what you have to focus on. Not the men who were harming those people in anyway. They got what was coming for them."

Becca raised her head finally to see their handler. Feeling some of the anguish fall off of her.

"You three need to stick together. Be the high in each other's weak spot. Just remember this mission is over and you walked away still breathing. Remember that each and every time."

* * *

_**September 2011** _

The tattoo parlor smelled of a mix of incense and disinfectant. Becca arms were crossed, eyes looking over the designs that littered the walls. Many flowers or anchors or skulls, a lot of the generic tattoos she has seen on many people in her lifetime.

"Would you come here and hold my hand, damnit!" Eve yelled at her best friend across the shop that was dead expect from the two girls and the tattoo artist.

"Always so dramatic." Becca smiled at the blonde before doing as she was told. Eve grasped her hand desperately as the man kept working on her ankle.

"You know how I am with needles." She mustered out, not wanting to see the needle actually go into her skin but also couldn't not take a peak. "God, this better be worth it."

The brunette snorted, getting a harder hand squeeze in return. "You act like you were pushed into doing this. You were the one to actually push me into doing this and coming with you in the first place."

"What do you have better plan tonight instead? A hot night in your apartment listening to country music and reading a book?"

"Maybe I had a date?" She shrugged her shoulders watching the guy snicker at the two girls but kept up his work on Eve's ankle.

"Unless that city boy decided to finally make his move, then no you definitely didn't have a date."

It was true. Becca had been very much single despite the sporadic flirting that would come with hanging out with Garrett from time to time, but she hadn't seen much of him lately. He had been leveled up and was now on the STRIKE team with Brock Rumlow. If anything, they would have some quick interaction at the facility but other than that they have been doing their own things.

"Guess you haven't heard from him lately." Eve's voice softened, looking at her friend with sympathy.

"It's no big deal." She was moving on with life and that's why she was here with Eve that night. She had wanted a tattoo since she was 18, but being a ballerina, you tried to keep your skin flawless. Now that her journey has moved into another direction she wanted to finally do that.

Eve's was beautiful and it made perfect sense to who she was as a person. It was a bitten apple with a snake wrapped around it and poke through the front. It symbolized was she had always heard from the Bible with Adam and Eve, and Eve eating the forbidden fruit. This blonde Eve sitting their today would never let someone stop her from doing something so it was kind of a 'screw you' to everyone in her path that tried to stop her. Eve absolutely loved it and was now standing at the mirror not being able to take her eyes away from it.

"You ready?" The man asked Becca now.

She took one more deep breath before pulling off her button up shirt, leaving her in a cami. Hers was going in between her shoulder blades at the base of her neck. She was getting a compass rose or Rose of the Winds, depending on what people called it. It was a large open rose with the outline of a compass around it. There were many reason for her reasoning to get it, but as she said her journey was what made Becca who she was.

Her life has given her so many paths to walk down, it was all about going in the right direction for herself. If nothing else, she always wanted to be centered in herself.

"It's beautiful, Bec." Eve watched the art design flow beautifully against her skin. If anything came from today, the two girls were drawn more together over the fact that they both held their own fights and journeys directly on their skin.

* * *

_**October 2011** _

SHIELD was buzzing. With the whispers that no one knew exactly what was going on. That was if you weren't ranked high enough to know the big secrets that keep taking place. Becca sat in Coulson's office, her thumb nail resting between her teeth. The man in front of her has been a type of giddy or off-center since the news of a Russian oil team discovered a crashed plane in the snow and ice.

The man had been dealing with God's as of late which she was still a little haphazard about, not fully understanding how the God of Thunder, Thor himself, had landed on their planet, but Clint had explained to her one to many times that it was true. But now they were dealing with a blast from the past. Literally.

What they found in the crash site was what really had everyone on edge of sorts. How could a man still be alive after frozen for 70 years Becca would never understand but it was true. Captain America was alive. He was alive and currently thawing out in the basement of the building they were in. He was brought in yesterday she had found out from her handler sitting before her, a grin couldn't shake off his face.

"Your crush is showing." Becca smiled, watching the older man always decked out in a pristine black suit completely loose it over his hero.

"Don't you have anything better to do right now?" He straightened the papers on his desk from the 20th time for no real reason.

"You asked me here, remember?" She laughed, picking up the cards that always sat on his desk in view. They were Captain America trading cards that she honestly still didn't fully understand what they were for exactly. But she knew they were his prized possession. "So, what do you got for me, Boss?"

"Right." He nodded before finding the folders he had arranged for her. "Homework."

She raised an eyebrow, but took the folders without a problem, setting the cards back on his desk. Each were labeled. One was her father. One was for Thor. Another was for Bruce Banner. Then finally was the man of the hour; Steve Rogers. "What are these?"

"Fury would like you to get an understanding of them. Just read it over and recall."

She nodded, glancing through the pages. She was about to ask a question before a voice rang over the system calling out a 'Code 13'. Becca went to spring up into action but Coulson held out a hand, stopping her in her tracks.

"Stay here." He got up heading towards the door.

"Are you serious!" She looked at him like he was crazy.

"That's an order." He looked at her one last time before heading out the door.

She watched as agent after agent went running by, while she was still in the glass office, being told to stay put. Becca stood from her seat, folders still in her hand. Pulled out Steve Roger to be on top. She almost didn't want to open to see what was inside. Peggy's words coming back to her so easily with the way she cared for the man so many years ago.

Not long after everything seemed to return back to normal. That was until she the opening of the elevator down the way took her attention.

Her heart seemed to have jumped into her throat the second her eyes locked onto his body. She didn't fully know what to expect at her first time seeing him. Coulson might had been talking nonstop about him and might have been ultra creepy and snuck into to see him while he was sleeping, but Becca didn't know what to expect from the 'legend' and 'hero' who was now in the same room as her.

But now as his eyes found hers across the hallway while SHIELD agents surrounded him, Fury leading him through the facility, she couldn't move a single muscle. She didn't know him and he didn't know her but the amount of energy in one glance could have her powered for an entire week. But the sadness behind that energy was increasing with each second.

Steve Rogers, Captain America, was officially living in the 21st Century.

* * *

_**January 2012** _

Lithe flipped over the body she was currently fighting before landing on her feet and kicking them in the ribs, giving Black Widow the advantage of wiping out their knees sending them flying onto their back. As Becca went to twist the person around they got a hold of her foot knocking her flat down with Natasha right after. The two women were highly confused by how this person knew what their next moves always were going to be.

Fury had directed them to the Hellicarrier once there was a security breach. The two women did as they were told, finding a path of unconscious agents on the way. As they made their way into the control room, the two ranked agents found person decked out in tactical gear, mask and all, going through the system. Which brought them to where they were. 2 against 1. But it seemed like this 1 was getting the best of them at some points.

Natasha had gotten her footing back pulled the person over into a summersault, hopefully to confuse him enough for them to get the upper hand. As he was into the last flip, Becca was able to pull the mask off to see who the intruder was. The two girls rose their hands in defense as the man turned their way, hands raised as well. But their surprise was beyond off guard at seeing their own teammate standing there. Clint Barton, the very person who right now was supposed to be off in New Mexico looking after the Tesseract that had come sailing down to their planet when the Gods decided to show up.

"Clint?" Becca squinted, out of breath from the fight and just majorly confused.

"Nice work." Fury walked out of the shadows a small smirk present on his face, that one wouldn't detect straight away if they didn't know the director.

"What the hell is this?" Natasha questioned, hands still raised in battle as were the rest of Team Delta still in a circle. Their eyes fleeting back and forth between their Director and their usual counterparts.

"A test, Agent Romanoff." He pulled his hands behind his back, his good eye looking over all of them in inspection. "You all passed with flying colors."

Becca rose an eyebrow, her arms finally dropping as did the other two. "A test? Where we all try to kill each other? Seems about right." Her sarcasm slipping off of her tongue.

"Good to know I trained you well." Clint nodded at his once apprentice, now teammate.

Natasha set her hands on her hips, annoyed with the situation more than Becca was. "I wish I could say I was surprised…"

"You three are my top agents." Fury stood now in the circle with them now. "I needed you to test our security. If Clint could have gotten in here and tamper with our system, we are unprotected."

"In my defense, I did get in here." Said man tilted his head.

"Yes, and that's something we have to change, but you two," the older man pointed between the two women, "stopped him from infiltrating our programing on the Helicarrier."

Becca couldn't help but think back to where they originally found him at the computer. "What were you downloading?" She pointed at the computer Barton had been stationed at.

Clint nodded at her before turning to Fury to take the question. "That's your call boss."

"I wanted him to test the security for the Avengers Initiative."

"I thought that was shut down?" The Black Widow side-eyed her boss' statement.

Fury looked at her in front of him. "It was. That was before a God and more came crashing down from another world." He looked at all three in the eye as he spoke. "We are not alone."

Becca swallowed, while trying not to ground her teeth. "So, you think something's going to happen sooner than later?"

"Why do you think I moved you up to Level 7? Why do you think I've had you three specifically working on top components? We have to be ready."

Clint crossed his arms over the tight tactical gear he was decked in. "With the tesseract still in play, we don't know who will come for it or what might come of it."

"Who's on it?" Natasha also folding her arms across her chest.

"Stark. Captain Rogers. Thor. Dr. Banner." Fury said each name with a taste of false confidence.

"Sounds to me like you've drawn a hand full of wild cards." Clint mentioned what the three were thinking. "You really sure you can count on this bunch in a tight spot?"

"Let's hope so. Most importantly you three. When things go…I will need Delta at once."

* * *

Are you ready for Steve Rogers? Are you ready for this road to get into full swing? Let the storm brew!

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR MY REBECCA!**


	9. Just Keep Breathing

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Just Keep Breathing - We The Kings

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

I hope you're ready for Steve, because Becca is...well she certainly thinks she is.

* * *

**Just Keep Breathing**

_2 A.M., too tired to sleep_  
When what you want's not what you need  
And when these walls don't feel like home  
Remember that you're not alone

_**2012** _

Her fingers tapped delicately against the metal arm rest of the chair as her eyes danced across the mahogany desk across from her. The usual New York City skyline still sat behind the floor to ceiling windows, the only thing changed in that scenery was the construction of new buildings in the distance. Her father's new Stark Tower was one of them.

Sitting there reminded Becca of the first time she was in Director Fury's office 4 years ago now. Only now he wasn't on edge or absolutely terrified from the dead man that was laying in her apartment at the time. No, so much had changed in the past few years, herself included. She would like to say that she was a confident 24-year-old with the world at her fingertips.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting." Fury apologized as soon as the door opened for him to walk through.

"No problem, not much going on for myself at the moment." She shrugged, her eyes following him around the desk. If it was possible he looked more stressed than usual. But still to the average eyes no one could notice that.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." He finally sat in the seat behind the desk, hands coming to fold on the glass desk. "I'm assuming you've done your homework."

She nodded at the code word. The homework being the folders Agent Coulson had given her a few months back regarding the possibility of the 'team' of Avengers. "Yes, sir. New developments?"

"Not exactly." He looked at the metal clock on the wall before back to her. "As we speak, Captain Rogers is being moved into his new apartment. As you know, we've had him upstate at the safe house the past few months, letting him…adjust."

"That's one way to put it." Becca couldn't even begin to think of what the man is going through right now. She got angry if she slept too late in the day, this was a whole other level. There was no comparison. Ever since the day he woke up in the SHIELD office he had honestly been on her mind quite a bit.

It was hard not to. She's heard the stories, read the reports, but there was something almost suffocating at the idea of these circumstance being true with why he was in the world today.

"Did you hear me, Agent?"

Becca jumped back into the moment, a blush growing across her cheeks from not paying attentions. Something that rarely happens to her. "I'm sorry?"

"I said, I want you to be primary contact for Captain Rogers."

There was no doubt she looked like a cartoon character at that moment. Eyes went wide and her jaw had dropped a bit. She didn't know what to say or how to even communicate at all with the request.

"He's had these few months to situate, but he's going to need some help." Director Fury stood from his chair, walking over to his windows to look out the same view she had admired a few minutes ago. "I'm not asking you to babysit him or having to hold his hand every time he leaves his apartment. Just help him when he needs it and support him when not. Guide him in reevaluating the world."

"Why me?" She managed to sputter out.

"You've come a long way in these past 4 years. I would like you to become more involved in SHIELD administrations. That is if you're up for it-"

"-I am." This was the whole reason for her working so hard. To be where her grandfather wanted her. "This isn't about my grandfather knowing Captain Rogers, is it?"

He looked back at her, hearing that undermining in her voice that he remembered when she had started at SHIELD. "It doesn't have to be if you don't want it to."

Becca nodded, thinking over the options. Having the national hero know she was a Stark might be helpful to her. Get the Captain to trust her perhaps, but she also didn't want it to be that easy. If she was going to be his 'handler' in a sense this time around, she wanted to create a relationship between Rebecca and Steve, not Agent Bex 'Stark' and Captain America.

"I would rather gain his trust first as a person before my family is brought up."

Fury nodded, heading back to his desk, looking for something. "This is exactly why I wanted you on this." He handed her a piece of paper, almost the size of a business card with an address written on it. "I let Rogers know you were coming over this afternoon, so he was prepared for you."

"Are you saying I'm much to handle, sir?" She smiled looking at the paper before back up to him.

"You certainly are something, Agent Bex."

* * *

She took the steps slowly; her nerves were tingling through her body on hyper speed today for some reason. She would never admit it outload but she was very nervous at the moment. The last time she had seen him in person was the brief passing the day he finally woke up. The bags in her hands felt like they were going to slip right through her fingers from her sweaty palms. She had never been that good at one-on-ones. It was hard for her to open up or start conversation with people since the world thinks they already know her.

Finally stopping at his floor, Becca stood outside his door trying to catch her breath. She could have very easily taken the elevator but she was wasting as much time as possible. She knew he couldn't be angry or aggressive of a person. She had heard plenty of stories about him when she was growing up. She could remember the high praise her grandfather had for him and the seldom hatred from her father at the mention of Captain America.

She didn't have time to finish her thoughts as the door was being pulled open. Becca must have looked like a deer in headlights and a complete weirdo. But she couldn't help the warming in the deep pit of her stomach at the soft smile directed down at her.

"Hello." Steve's deep rich voice fell over her like a blanket. "Have you been standing out her long?"

"No." Her voice jumped, immediately regretting the eagerness in her voice. "I mean, no, I just got here. I'm-"

"Agent Bex." He nodded, finishing her introduction. "Director Fury said you'd be stopping by."

"My name's Rebecca actually." She told him, walking over the threshold he had motioned for her to enter. "or Becca for most people, Captain." She didn't know exactly how to address him.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Rebecca." He closed the door softly and then answered her silent question. "And please, call me Steve."

Becca casually looked around the living room, taking in the modern looking furniture and knick-knacks. SHIELD had definitely given him the bare minimum, which was probably a good idea given the fact that to Steve, a few months ago was still 1940s. It was that moment Becca could practically feel the lonesome in the room and also coming off of the man standing taller than her. It was then that the young girl put it on her own shoulders to help him.

"What's in the bags?" His hands came to rest deep in the front pockets of his pants.

"Supplies. Kitchen?" She asked, smacking herself mentally for being so nervous a few minutes ago.

Steve nodded and showed her to the room. He watched her silently. He couldn't help but look her over intently. Her bright hazel eyes had been on his mind since he saw her for the first time the few months prior. She held a type of atmosphere about her that encompassed anyone she was near.

"You didn't have to do this." Steve stepped up to the counter across from her. He felt very overwhelmed by everything she was laying out.

"Nonsense. It's the least I could do to help you out." She gave him another soft smile. "I don't know if you've been out yet, but New York food stores are the equivalent of nightmares half of the time." She watched his eyes widen in terror. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to go with you the first time. Ease the insanity."

"Thank you for that." The soldier eased lightly at her words. To think he was willing to go to war but the thought of going out into this new world made him a nervous wreck. "So how long have you been working for SHIELD?"

"Oh…about four years now." Becca put the cold food in the fridge, at least knowing where that would be placed.

"Do you mind me asking how you got involved?"

Her eyebrows casually lifted, not use to the question being asked. No one usually asked that question because they believed they already knew the answer. But standing there in front of Steve, his clear blue eyes shining with pure curiosity and not judgement made her want to start clean. This man didn't know her past and for once she could befriend someone for how she was approached.

"Sorry." Steve shook his head, taking her slice as a boundary breach. "That wasn't my place to ask."

"No, it's okay. I just…someone had tried to kill me and it kinda turned into this big ordeal. But anyways, I wanted to be able to fend for myself and I guess you could say in a way SHIELD saved me."

He nodded, his fingers playing with the plastic bag on the counter in front of him. "I understand the whole 'fending for yourself' thing. I guess that's the whole reason I became this guy." He gestured to his body. "I just wanted to help people."

"And you did, Steve." Becca smirked, recalling his past that she had heard so much about. "It might not seem like it right now, given the situation you're in, but I promise you it did." A small grin filled his lips, appreciating the words. "So, where does this stuff go?"

Steve immediately walked behind the counter to assist her. They spent most of the time with Becca explaining to him what most of the foods were. She was going to leave but Steve's puppy dog eyes got the best of her. She could already tell those ocean eyes were going to be trouble on her point.

"You don't have a job to get to at SHIELD?" He asked her, pouring her some water to keep himself busy. He was also worried he was keeping her from something important, that he wasn't keeping her here against her will.

"I'm just on call at the moment. My team is currently on their own adventures at the moment." She gladly accepted the glass, the two still standing across from each other at the counter. It felt easier than sitting down.

"Team?"

"Yeah, STRIKE Team Delta." Becca watched him let the words run through his head, hoping to understand. "STRIKE is more for counter-terrorist special missions, as a whole group. Team Delta is myself and my two partners."

"So, you're mostly overseas?" Steve questioned. For a moment happy to have someone to take his mind off of his problems at hand.

She wobbled her head from side to side. "For the most part, now at least. At the beginning I was more taking whatever they gave me when I wasn't in school."

The blonde man leaned his hands against the counter, eyebrows dropped down in a crease that she was quickly understanding he did whenever he was deep thinking on something. "School? How old are you exactly?" As the words left his mouth, Steve's eyebrows had now shot up on his forehead and his mouth gaped. "Oh jeez! I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked that! That was horribly rude of me."

"Steve, it's okay." Becca couldn't help but giggle at his eagerness to change his wording. "I'm 24. 25 in June. I was finishing college when I started SHIELD."

He nodded, letting her know he was paying attention but refused to meet her eyes. Obviously still feeling self-conscious at his actions, making her feel for him. She watched his hand come up to run lightly through the front swoop of his hair.

"You don't have to keep apologizing to me, by the way." She whispered, letting her words fall softly in the sunlight filled room. "I can't say I understand what you are going through, or ever will, but I do understand you're adjusting to a new era. I'm not here to judge you or tear you apart over not knowing something. I'm just here as a helping hand whenever you need me." Steve's blue eyes finally found hers again, but his shoulders were still slouched over. "Whatever you need, don't be afraid to ask."

He let a deep breath out of his nose, nodding in understanding. "I appreciate that, ma'am."

"Of course. But you keep calling me ma'am then I'll for sure feel way older than I am." She smiled bright at him, taking a sip of her water.

This gained a soft smile from him finally. "Won't happen again."

* * *

"I can't believe you're just casually hanging out with Captain America. What's next? Going to be going on missions with him and leaving me in the dust?"

Becca rolled her eyes at Clint's laugh ringing through her cell phone. "Well with you gone for the good part of 2 years lately, I don't see why not."

"…rude."

"You're welcome." She sung, finally laughing as well. She sat alone in their office, leaning back in her chair with her feet crossed on the desk. "How's the alien lifestyle?"

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"Boring as hell." He groaned, getting her to chuckle more at his pain. "Mostly just on watch."

"From the rafters, Hawkeye?" She flipped one her smaller knives around in her fingers, the easiness falling so easily in between them even after time apart.

"Alright, smartass. Is all that you've been up to is babysitting?"

Becca dropped the knife on the desk to run a hand through her hair to push it off of her face. "I'm not babysitting. Simply being a nice person to a guy that is literally out of his element."

Clint became quiet on his end of the line, a grin that she couldn't see falling across his face. His thoughts going back to when he originally told her to never lose her true self, and hearing this made him incredibly happy. "Proud of you, kid."

She blushed at the softness of his words. "Thanks, Clint." Hearing that she made him proud, and that all of the hard work the two went through together paid off, was overwhelming for her. It's been about 2 weeks now since she first met Steve and they had been slowly getting to know each other. He had plenty of questions to ask, and once he understood she was willing to answer anything he let them out one at a time. Their time together had mostly been spent at his apartment, since he was still a bit weary to leave his apartment. She understood, but hoped he would get out of that habit soon.

A knock on the open door broke her concentration, seeing Garrett standing there with a smile on his face. She waved him in, dropping her feet from her desk. "Hey, I've got to get going." She explained to Clint.

"Yeah," he sighed in defeat of exhaustion, "me too. Gotta call up those kids for a bit."

"Tell them hi for me." She used those words to not alert of Garrett of anything to do with Clint's family.

"Will do. I'll talk to you later, Bec."

"Talk to you later." She tapped the end button on the screen before giving her attention to Garrett who had made himself comfy on the couch. "Well look what the dogs dragged in!"

"Funny." He ran his fingers across the busted lip knowing that she automatically took notice to it, even if it was almost healed at this point. It was one thing everyone took notice to with Agent Bex, she took notice to everything, whether that be physical or mental. She could sense situations, which was good for her job for sure. "You should see the other guy."

"Where you've been?"

"Denmark. A lot colder than I expected."

"Well, it is winter. You should have packed warmer." She smiled, letting their riff continue.

"I knew I should have let you pack for me." The grin stretching across his split lip.

It was something they started early on together, after a horrible mission she had been on. They wouldn't talk about the death toll or the horrible things they would have had to do, simply use small talk. But it was so much more than that. It was a way for each of them to fall back into the real world.

"What have you been up to, while waiting for my return home?"

She rolled her eyes but played along, giving herself a southern twang. "Oh, dear Mr. Neilsen, don't you worry about little ole' me. I've just been here doing my chores and making sure the kids were taken care of. The normal life of a housewife."

Garrett couldn't help but laugh at her over the top accent, almost seeing her with her hands on her hips, looking at him in distaste in a country home of sorts. It was almost comical at how much Becca loved the city when she had such a southern belle air about her. She loved country music, you would only see her in shorts when it had a touch of warm in the air, and a smile that warmed everyone's heart. It was a starch opposite to her alter ego 'Lithe'.

"Says the girl who is twirling a knife right now."

The brown-haired girl looked down at her hands in confusion before letting out a high laugh. She hadn't even realized she picked the weapon back up, it just became second nature at this point. "This isn't a good habit, is it?"

"I mean you could be doing drugs?" He shrugged. "Seriously though, what have you been up to?"

"Well," she now kept her eyes on the blade, "Captain America is alive and well."

"So I've heard." Garrett rose an eyebrow at her statement. "What, do they have you, Agent Bex, taking care of him?" He said it sarcastically but as seeing the scrunch of her nose he knew it was true. "Holy crap, you really are in charge of him, aren't you?"

"Are you going to give me shit like Clint just was, too?" She pointed the knife at him in a false threatening way.

He raised his hands from his lap in defense. "Not in the slightest. That just…it makes sense." Her eyebrows rose into her hairline, questioning. "You've got enough heart to take on something as…drastic as that situation."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." She raised from her seat, putting her knife back in the holster at her hip.

"Good, you were supposed to." He used his sly smile that he did plenty of times on her, that flirtatious behavior never fully leaving between them.

"Take me to lunch." Becca broke her eye contact with him to head to the door.

He huffed but pulled himself up anyways. "So bossy."

* * *

She was absolutely delighted to be able to walk outside in the March weather and not feel like she was getting slapped in the face by the frigid temperature. It was finally starting to feel like spring, she only wished it would stay. Becca walked down the busy city street with her bag slung over her shoulder and a coffee cup in hand. As she came up to the one outside café, a puff of blonde hair with a brown leather jacket caught her attention. She smirked softly at the sight of the soldier and decided to take a second to say hello.

She stopped behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see him sketching on the placemat. It was a small but detailed work of the city scape. But the main focus was Stark tower sitting in the forefront. "Wow. A man of many talents."

Steve looked over his shoulder at her voice, jumping slightly in his seat. His nerves immediately calmed at the brunette. "Rebecca. Hi!"

"Hey, Steve." She couldn't help the soft smile that constantly fell across her face whenever she was with him. "It's good to see you're out and about." She walked around to the front of the table, leaning against the back of the chair.

"Yeah, you can only spend so much time reliving your past in the same four walls." He leaned forward with his arms on the table, playing with the cap of his pen.

"Fresh air will definitely clear your head, even if it's just for a split second."

"Do you want to stay, sit down for a bit?" He motioned to the chair that she was tapping her fingers against.

She scrunched her face in sadness. "I really wish I could, but I've got a meeting that I'm no doubt already going to be late for." She watched his blue eyes slowly cloud over with rejection if just for a quick second, nearly breaking her heart on the spot. "But, hey if you're free later do you want to hang out?"

"Hang out?" He tilted his head in confusion at the saying.

She laughed softly, looking down before glancing back up. "It means spending time together for any allotted time." Becca explained, seeing the light glow back into his eyes. "I was planning on cooking dinner tonight, since I've been eating out for the past few days anyways. So, if you weren't busy you could come over to my apartment, have dinner, talk, not talk, whatever."

Steve smiled wide at her blabbering, but nodded his head. "I would very much like that."

"Great! Uh, let me give you my address." She took the pen he offered her and scribbled down her address on the placemat next to his drawing. She also tagged on her phone number just in case. "So, I'll see you, say around 7?"

He nodded, reading over the address before looking up at her. "Sounds like a hang out. Did I say that right?"

Becca couldn't help but giggle. "We'll work on it. See you later, Captain."

"It's Steve, Rebecca."

"And it's Becca, Steve." She shot back at him with a wink and headed off back into the city street to actually try to make it to her meeting in somewhat of a decent time.

* * *

She cleaned her apartment from top to bottom as soon as she got home, not like she was a person that kept things a mess, but she was anxious at the thought of her guest being there at any second. She made sure there was no recognition that she was a Stark anywhere for Steve to possibly see until she was ready. She wanted to tell him, but she wasn't ready to deal with the responsibility. Or how he would act knowing the information.

The sound of a knock on her door, snapped her back into her body from where she was in the kitchen, at the stove. She checked her appearance once in the mirror. Sure, this wasn't anything more than a friendly night, but she wanted to make some sort of care to how she looked. She wasn't going to deny Steve Roger was an attractive man, but that was it.

Becca opened the door, seeing Steve on the other side, hands deep in his pockets. "Hey, glad you made it."

"Hope I'm not late." He smiled back at her, walking across the threshold she had motioned to him.

"Nonsense." She grabbed his jacket from him as he slid it off his broad shoulders, hooked on her coat rack next to the door. "I was just finishing up dinner. Do you want a beer?" She asked, walking back into the kitchen.

"Oh, um…" He contemplated what the correct and proper response was. Was that to forward of him to accept the alcohol even though a) he couldn't get drunk and b) this was a different time period. This was a common offering.

"It's just a beer, Steve. I'm not asking for your hand in marriage." Becca smiled, two bottles in her hands. She thought he looked like an adorable golden retriever who was trying his best to be house trained.

"Right." Steve laughed softly and walked forward to grab the offering. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome." She knocked the neck of her bottle with his as a cheer before the two took a drink. "Did you find the place okay?" The girl asked, walking back into the kitchen to check on the stove.

"For the most part. I had only ever been in this part of the city a few times." He leaned against the counter opposite her, thinking of the old Hell's Kitchen he used to know. "It was mostly gangs and shipping on the Hudson."

"You're from Brooklyn, right?"

"Yes." He watched her flow around the kitchen as light as a feather. She was enchanting to watch to him, that was one thing he had noticed quickly about her. She walked easily, never making a sound on the floor, and right now in her element she kept turning on her toes. "Are you from New York?" He managed to ask, as she stopped to slice the bread on the cutting board beside him this time.

"Originally from Manhattan, but my father moved us to California when I was around 7." She brushed off the crumbs on her hand before holding the board, asking him to bring it to the table. The conversation paused for a second while she fixed up their plates of spaghetti, since she decided not to do anything crazy for the guy. A simple comfort food shouldn't be a problem.

"So, you moved back here by yourself?" Steve asked, sitting across from her at the small dining room table.

"Mhmm." She answered, swallowing a bit of her pasta. "I moved back when I got into college."

"Where did you go?"

"Juilliard. I focused in dance."

The super soldier nodded, twirling the pasta on in fork. It now made sense to him why she moved with such elegance. "Do believe even dance the same way anymore?"

"Oh, you would definitely be surprised." She laughed, thinking of the day he was shown the new way of music and dance. "But I'm proud to say I could swing to any big bang song they put on like a pro, thank you. But I'm more into ballet and contemporary."

"Wow, I'm very impressed. Maybe I could see you perform one day?"

"For sure. Obviously with SHIELD that didn't become my career but it's now my hobby. It's easier for me to release my energy into it." She drank a sip of beer, allowing the liquid to coat her throat to ask about the next question. "Well you've also got more tricks up your sleeve."

Steve's eyes jumped up to her, not fully understanding the question. But also worried that she was going to start talk about his role as Captain America. "Excuse me?"

"Drawing. Seeing that little sketch today…you clearly have had your hand in that before."

"Oh." His heart beat slowly down a bit at the mention of another topic. "It's just something that I picked up as a kid. Like you said, it releases some energy."

"Well I would love to see more of your drawings as well."

The two mentally shook on letting the other get an inside look at what they loved to do. Dinner continued on, Steve constantly thanking her and complementing on how delicious the food was. Becca was honestly just happy to not burn anything. She could handle a few recipes, but she wouldn't go out and say she was an amazing cook by any means.

Not wanting the night to end, Becca asked if he wanted to stay and watch a movie which he was up to, not wanting to go home yet either since he was feeling more and more adventurous with the day.

"So are you feeling up to something new or would you like something…um-"

"Old?" He laughed, seeing her try to find the right words to not disrespect him.

"I was going to say vintage," she giggled as well, "but sure let's go with old." She was just happy to hear the light sound of his laugh that was also deep. It easily bubbled in her chest.

"Anything you want, is fine."

Becca decided to pick out one of her favorite's 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', deciding it was a good in between from the 40s and now. The two took their spots on either ends of the couch and both got engrossed in the movie. She didn't know when it happen, but Becca had fallen asleep some part during the movie, after a long day it just came easy for her.

She's not exactly sure what it was that woke her up, but she did know it was late, the apartment was dark despite the black faint of the tv screen still on. It was the sound of heavy breathing that fully woke her up now. She turned to her right and saw the spot next to her was empty from where Steve was sitting before she had fallen asleep. She followed the breathing to the left, seeing a figure standing at the dining room table. From the shoulders and height, she could assume it was Steve.

"Steve? You okay?" Her voice was whisper, not wanting to break the silence in the apartment, since she didn't know what exactly was going on. Yet with her question he still didn't answer. "Steve?" She stood up now, slowly making her way over to him. Becca watched his shoulder heave up and down, hands gripping tightly to the chair.

As she moved, she automatically knew she shouldn't have touched his shoulder but she did. As soon as her hand lightly made contact, the larger man spun on his heels looming over her. She didn't have time to register what was happening before he was grabbing her, forcing her harshly against the wall. One hand held her arm while the other was around her throat, gripping tighter and tighter by the second.

"Steve!" She rasped out, her free hand clawing at his hand, but it wouldn't budge. He was looking at her but his eyes weren't focused. Like he was sleep walking, stuck in a daze between reality and dream. Her nails dug at his fingers but she wasn't strong enough to break away from him. With only so much oxygen left in her lungs, she could comprehend enough to pull the small knife she had on her belt.

Without knowing what else to do, Becca made a swipe at the super soldier's forearm, leaving a red line in his skin. At the slice, Steve seemed to regain consciousness, hands coming off of Becca and immediately holding his arm. At the release, Becca coughed to gather air as she fell to the ground. The knife clattered to the floor, hands coming up to hold against her own neck now.

"Rebecca?" Steve's voice broke the apartment, full of confusion. His eyes went from his arm, to her crumbled on the ground, to the knife beside her. His eyes focusing on her holding her neck. "Did I do this?"

"Steve, it's okay." She attempted to gargle out, trying to soothe him but also trying to get the dark spots to leave her eyes.

"I…I did this. I…" He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, his throat going dry at the seeing the pain he clearly put her in.

Becca slowly stood up, not wanting to make herself any dizzier than she already was. "Steve, stop, don't-"

"I hurt you, Rebecca." Steve's eyes see in the redness from what he guessed was his hand around her neck. The one person that he was slowly starting to form a friendship with, the only person he had to trust in this world. And he had almost killed her. "I have to go."

"Steve, please!" She tried to get him to stop, but he was grabbing his coat and was out the door in a matter of seconds.

Becca slumped back over to her couch, sitting down and letting her head fall in her hands. Things just got a whole lot worse for the man out of time, more than she thought possible.

* * *

Dun Dun Dun!

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	10. Youth

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Youth - Daughter

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

I'm in some sort of head space after Infinity War. And I'm going to work my damnedest to get as far as I possibly can before Avengers 4 comes out next year!

Because boy oh boy are things going to get intense for Becca along the way.

* * *

****

**Youth**

_Shadows settle on the place, that you left._

_Our minds are troubled by the emptiness._

_Destroy the middle, it's a waste of time._

_From the perfect start to the finish line._

_**March 2012** _

It had been three days since the incident. Three days and Becca hadn't been able to get a hold of Steve. The first day she let him breathe, knowing he was probably on edge from whatever night terror he clearly had and then harming her. The fact that he was not just dealing with the past and now in the day time, but being terrorized by his dreams at night was something that she knew was going to have to be discussed at some point. On the second day she tried calling him but did not get a response. She would at first assume he didn't understand his cell phone, but she knew that was out of the question since she had seen him use it to put her contact info in it. She casually stopped by his apartment later that evening after leaving SHIELD but no answer. Now here she was on day three, scarf wrapped around her neck for multiple days now, and her anxiety was high contemplating on what to do next. Steve was clearly hurting and she really just wanted to give a helping hand, but also didn't want to push him to a point where he would be annoyed with her.

"You paying attention to me?"

Becca turned away from the window looking out over the New York City skyline to see her father turned to her with an eyebrow raised. "Absolutely."

Tony knew for a fact that she had drifted off from listening to him, so he would play her for it. "Great, so we'll get your room ready for you to move in."

"What?" Her eyes blowing wide at the words, clearly not hearing him.

"Played." The older man smirked at her, winning this time.

A regretful, but also thankful that it wasn't true, sigh fell from her lips. She has been caught.

He had asked her to come over to see the mostly finished construction of the Stark Tower. Tony and Pepper had been flying back forth for the past two years getting this structure up and running in light of the destruction that had taken place at the Expo. It was supposed to be a place for new inventions, for people to be able to come and create. Sort of what they wanted out of the Expo, but this wasn't for them to show off. It was for creation and ideas. The top few floors would be home base for the Stark family.

Now that Tony knew about his daughter's involvement in SHIELD, he had been making more and more trips to the city. Saying he was checking up on construction, but really it was his not so subtle way of making sure his kid still had all her fingers and toes. She might be a highly trained spy, but she was still his baby girl.

"Sorry. There's just been so much going on lately." Becca's brown locks rustling back and forth as she shook her head.

"Fury setting you up on a mission?" He tried to ask the question casually, but again; daughter.

"If only. I think I'm actually getting a little stir crazy." She followed him over to the glass bar set up on the right side of the room. "Natasha's off on a secret mission. Clint's been off and on the same assignment for almost two years. And here I am having to much time on my hands to know what to do with."

Tony nodded pouring himself a small glass of whiskey and handing a glass of red wine that he knew his daughter had grown a taste for. "Guess that's what happens when you played double agent for two years for your life. Now you're bored." He took a sip before giving a dark chuckle. "I honestly didn't think it was even possibly for you to get bored. But you've been a worker since you were a kid. Never stopping to take a break."

Taking her own sip, Becca nodded at the acknowledgement of her life. She had always been dedicated to dancing as a young girl, and then to her ranking in SHIELD. Now she was at a plateau with her mission right now on helping a guy that didn't even want to see her. Don't get her wrong, there was always something to do at work. Always looking over possible targets and double checking old assignments to make sure nothing new was popping up, but Becca liked to be in motion. But if her title one day would focus more on the internal structure of SHIELD, like Fury has been dangling in front of her, she assumed she should get use to it.

"From what I've been hearing the mumblings of, that office has been anything but quiet since a certain ancient artifact has been thawed out."

Becca rolled her eyes at the distasteful mention of Steve from her father. She hasn't told him that she was working with him because she knew he would react badly to it. She could remember the stories from her grandfather at a young age of the nation's hero, but right after that was her father's almost hatred for the man. So she would once again be playing secret agent between the two. "It definitely hasn't been quiet. Everyone wants their piece of Captain Rogers."

"Have you met him?" His deep brown eyes boring into her own hazel, almost green eyes today.

"I have." She nodded, drinking more of the wine to give her something to take her attention off the awkwardness of the situation.

"And? Is he everything everyone says he is?"

It was almost as if Tony wanted everything he's heard to be a lie. He didn't want to believe that the man his father worshipped to be the greatness that was spilled into his ears. Like he wanted to hold some sort of resentment to his father that he wasn't the amazement he had heard.

Becca had no idea how to answer the question the correct way, for herself, for Steve, or for Tony. "I don't know," she shrugged overthinking her response, "just seems like a normal guy to me that needs some help."

Tony thought about it for a second before a self deprecating smirk fell on his face. "Just a normal guy." He spat out, taking a swig of his whiskey as if his own medicine to deal with the thought.

Becca never fully saw her father jealous in her life. That probably had a lot to do with the fact that he easily could get anything he wanted, or he would make it himself. So seeing a person that he didn't even know making him boil under the skin gave her more anxiety then needed at this moment with her own problems with Steve.

The ding of the personal elevator broke the awkward silence around them, the two Starks turning to see Pepper walking in, phone to her ear. "Okay, we will make that happen." Pepper talked to whoever was on the other side of the phone call. "Alright, it will be our pleasure...mmhmm...great, we'll see you then." She hung up the phone and setting it on the bar along with her booklet.

"CEO looks good on you." Becca smiled at the women who held a confidence air around her that made the young girl admire her even more. If that was even possible.

"Oh, hush you." Said woman blushed before wrapping Becca up in tight hug. "You, however, are looking more and more gorgeous."

"Thanks, she gets that from me." Tony threw back the rest of his drink, avoiding the glare from his two women. "Who were you on the phone with?"

"There's a state night dinner happening in DC that they want to you make an appearance at." Pepper grabbed her own glass of wine that was handed to her. "So, we're going."

"I'm busy." He turned, rinsing out his glass in the wet bar.

"You don't even know what day."

"...well I'm busy that day too." The man turned around with a smirk present on his lips.

Pepper shook her own head, use to his reluctantness. A soft smile starting to become present on her own face. "You're impossible."

"Oh, like you expect anything different." He smiled back this time, leaving over the bar counter to give her a sweet kiss.

It might have been about two years now, but Becca honestly didn't think she would ever get over how much her heart almost burned her chest with love at the sight of the two of them together. Her father never had been a legitimate relationship, at least that she knew of, in her life. They were always flings. His true concentration was on work and his daughter. So seeing him truly open with his emotions to a women that she had felt like was her own mother meant more than anyone would know to her.

"You guys are cute." Becca's voice rich of awe but also a taste of amusement.

Pepper backed away first, the still blush resting on her cheeks while Tony rolled his eyes at the younger girl's bruising. "So, what do you think of the tower?"

"I like it." She took another drink, eyes once again looking around the floor. "Elegant but efficient."

"See," Tony pointed to his daughter, "she gets it."

Pepper ignored him and wrapped her arms around Becca's, walking the two over towards the balcony again. "I feel like I haven't gotten to talk to you in awhile."

"Well you've become rather busy as of late. If that was more possible."

"Was that a dig at me? Cause it felt like a dig at me." The father called from across the room, but once again got ignored.

Becca gave a gentle sigh, almost letting herself be held up by the older of the two. "Just living life."

"Safely, I'm hoping." Pepper gave her a side eye, taking a deep drink of the red wine.

"Ten fingers and ten toes."

"That's what I like to hear." At her words her phone started buzzing on the counter, gaining a groan from the owner. "That however is not."

Becca laughed and watched as Pepper went back to work. From the view that she was now back at the window her eyes drifted to the cafe she had found Steve at a few days ago now. Her chest bubbled with hope at maybe seeing him sitting there. She could find him there and she could run down to him, just sit and talk. Becca had to swallow deeply, letting her hope sink from her body seeing that he wasn't there. It was time for her to take the direction in her own hands.

* * *

She gathered up her courage and pulled the heavy metal door open. The immediate smell of sweat, rubber, and just everything that was a gym atmosphere entered her nose. It was a 24/7 gym that was located underground that would easily be missed by the naked eye unless you were specifically looking for the place. The old school yellow, green, and brown walls honestly made you feel like you were walking back in time, which made even more sense to why he would have chosen this place a safe haven. The place was empty for the most part, two boxing rings sitting back to back, resting after what she assumed was a hard day at the towels sitting next to it that looked spotted with blood. What told her that she wasn't alone was the rhythm of punches and the squeal from a chain.

Becca followed the noise, calming her nerves at the sight she found around the corner. If she wouldn't have been hoping to find him, she would have known it was him automatically at the broad shoulders and overall stance from the man. She didn't know if he had heard her come in or was just assuming it was a stranger, but he continued to wail away at the punching bag hanging from the ceiling. She watched his back tighten and the punches seemed to be getting quicker and harder against the bag before something just stopped him. He just stopped punching and grabbed the bag on either side to stop it from swinging, resting his forehead on the material. She was invading a personal moment, but she didn't move. She did look down however, almost feeling desperation dripping off of him and setting deep in her chest. His deep breaths keeping her calm enough to not run over and coddle him.

This man wasn't Captain America. This was Steve Rogers in the flesh who was being tortured by his own thoughts and needed something to hold on to to keep him afloat. She was just a girl who wanted to be his life preserver in the deep ocean he was slowly sinking in.

"You know, there is a gym in the basement of SHIELD that you could use for free." Becca kept her voice low as to not make him jump out of his skin where he was already on edge.

He didn't move, just his breathing changed softer at the sound of her voice. "I feel more comfortable in a place where I'm not being gawked at." Steve could feel his sweat slicked skin sticking to the bag as he pulled his forehead off the bag. "If you didn't know, Captain America is awake and everyone wants a piece of him."

Those words left bile rising in her throat. She came here on a mission to make him hear her out but was she doing this all in selfish way. She didn't know anymore if helping him was actually more to make herself feel better. She wasn't trying to do that.

"And here I thought I was the only one worthy enough to know this knowledge." She smiled, hoping he could hear it. And from the soft chuckle she knew he did.

"Maybe the only one to actually know him." His hands dropped from the bag and finally turned over his shoulder to see the girl for the first time in three days. After he had left that night he had a fitful night at his apartment over thinking everything that had happen. Other than that he had spent most of his time at the gym breaking though one bag after another. His dreams when he did attempt to lay down to sleep we're plagued with one nightmare after another. "What are you doing here, Rebecca?"

"Well," she took cautious steps towards him, her hands gripping tightly to the leather strap of her crossbody bag, "I went to your apartment, but I once again didn't get an answer. And I remembered you mentioning a gym down the street that you wanted to check out. So, I spent my evening gym hopping."

Steve dropped his head, watching his shoes scuff the mat below him. She had been going out of her way for him, and her saying that just made him feel worse about their situation. "You've been looking for me?"

"Of course I have." Becca said incredibly, like she didn't expect him to think less of her. "I've been looking for you for days, Steve."

He looked up at her with sorrow in his blue eyes, the same eyes that fell to the scarf wrapped around her neck. He could only guess what bruise he had left on her soft, creamy skin. He could have made the situation so much worse.

"Stop over thinking." She whispered, pulling her bag off to rest next to his own on the ground.

"I could have killed you."

"And yet I'm standing right here. Breathing and moving on my own."

"But still-"

"-but nothing!" Becca's voice higher than either of them expected. "You have to let this go."

Steve shook his head, starting to unwrap his hands to pay attention to something other than her. She had easily become something that was constantly entering his mind; being something that he could grasp in this reality. "It's not that simple."

She huffed and stalked toward him to only be a foot apart now. She grabbed his right hand before he started to unwrap the left one. Becca could tell she had taken him by surprise with his eyebrows shooting up and him looking back and forth from their hands to her face. With her opposite hand, she gently began unwinding the scarf around her neck, letting it fall to the mat.

"What are you doing?" He whispered down to her, his heart racing at the lack of distance between them.

"Showing you that I trust you." The brown haired girl raised her head to fully look him in the eye, and also giving him a full view of her neck. She watched the grimace flash across his face at finally seeing the hand print there. Becca didn't hesitate to bring his hand back up to her neck and gently place it so that he was cradling the side of her throat. Her eyes didn't leave his as he watched his hand, not trusting himself. She wanted to change that. "You are not a monster. I trust you, Steve."

"But I hurt you." His throat feeling dry from the contact and the situation.

"And I hurt you." Her other hand that wasn't holding his, lightly traced the thin line that was left on his forearm from where she had cut him. It was healing quickly from what she assumed from the super soldier serum.

"It's different."

"Is it though?" She tried to rationalize with him over each of their problems. "Despite my job, I don't actually go out of my way to hurt people."

"I don't either." Steve couldn't bring his eyes away from hers now.

"Okay. Then we step forward. If you want to. I'm not pushing you into anything, just like I told you when we first met."

Taking one last feel of her skin beneath his palm, he nodded and let it slide back to his side. "Okay."

"Okay." Her smile brightened his demeanor. "So, um...do you want to get out of here. I'm starving and it wouldn't hurt to have some company with me to go grab some food."

He agreed, before grabbing his bag and heading to the locker room to change quickly. It barely gave her enough time to calm her own nerves of what just happened. She may have seemed calm, cool, and collected but this man made her hair stand on its end. Their walk had a sprinkling of small talk, keeping both of them at ease in the late night, chilly New York air. They stopped in at the 24 hour diner that Becca had taken refuge in one to many nights between college and SHIELD. It was never abnormal to find her there at midnight staring out the window when she was supposed to be paying attention to the paperwork set out on the table. The hostess sat them at a table at the back next to the window, leaving menus on the table and saying their waitress would be there shortly.

"I like this place." Steve mentioned, eyes taking in the bright neon colors and ruby red booths and stools at the counter.

"I thought you would. And their food it is even better." Becca open the trifold menu in front of her. "Natasha, Clint, and I usually come here after a mission to refuel. Might be good food, but it always made me work extra hard the next day to keep the dancer body."

"How'd you get interested in ballet?"

"I remember dancing a lot as a little girl. My grandmother would play the piano and I can remember twirling around the room with no care in the world. No doubt annoying everyone because I always wanted them to join me." She rested her elbow in the table to hold her chin. Staring off with a soft smile, eyes sparkling at the memory. "I think I loved dancing so much, and still do, because it reminds me of her."

He couldn't tell if the shine in her eyes was because of the dancing or the thought of her family. "You lost her?"

Becca nodded, eyes falling back to him. "When I was a kid, both my grandparents." This could have been the moment. This could have been the time where she told him about who she really was, but that opportunity was lost as the waitress came over to get their drink order.

"I never knew my grandparents. Either side." Steve opened up to her. He realized how empty he had felt in those few days without her in his day. He knew if he wanted this relationship to continue he was going to have to open up to her, just as she had been doing every time he asked a question. "Then again I didn't even know my father. He died before I was born."

She nodded, the two having a similar backstory of family but also very different outcomes. "I never knew my mother. She left me on my father's doorstep when I was only a month or so old."

"Well, aren't we the saddest two people to be put together." He laughed, pushing his hair off his forehead.

"Not necessarily. I mean, yes we might be sitting at a diner at 11 at night, but hey we aren't alone." She pointed to the couple of stragglers around them. She had no doubt the place would get packed again around 2 or 3 when bars starting letting out. "The fun thing about New York is that you can be anyone you want. These are just strangers that we'll probably never see again."

The waitress left two coffees on the table along with the pot, and bowl of creamers, before taking their order. Becca telling Steve to order anything that might sound appetizing and her sticking to something simple incase he wasn't into it. Another simple action that had the super soldier reeling from her pure nature.

"So, what would our new life be?"

"Hmm?" She mumbled, mixing her coffee just the way she likes it; three creamers and 1 sugar.

"You said we could be anyone we wanted. Who would we be?" He took a sip of own coffee, keeping it black.

She pursed her lips in thought, twirling the spoon in the liquid. "I would be in the company at the NYC Ballet. Working hard enough to stay on as first string, but also start working on my own ensemble at the same time. You would be an artist working in Brooklyn, designing what he wanted, when you wanted. But you had a gallery that was always willing to showcase your work. Constantly getting attention for them and yourself. Becoming an underground name to be reckoned by."

He had sat back at some point and let her vision ran rampage on his head. It sounded great. If only it could ever happen, or if he even wanted it to happen.

"And these two people would be here, at this diner, in this booth at the beginning of each month to catch up on what they have been up to. It would always be late at night and neither cared. Just excited to tell the other about their life in those past few weeks."

"It's almost too good to be true." His fingers played with the edge of the sugar packets.

"It doesn't have to be if you just believe it."

* * *

Becca had been warming her hands with a cup of coffee in the kitchen when she got the call. It was just after 7am when she went scrambling back to her bedroom, cup still in hand, to grab her ringing cell phone. She pulled the device off the charger with haste seeing Steve's name written across the screen. He didn't call her, he had never called her, so her heart was beating out of her chest in worry.

"Morning." She said into the phone, hoping he couldn't hear her nerves on his end.

"Um..M-morning, Rebecca." Steve cleared his throat, very unusual for him to stutter over his words. "It's Steve."

She wanted to say she knew from caller ID, but that would probably make him feel embarrassed and that's not what she wanted. "Hey, Steve. What's going on?"

"I was wondering if you were busy."

"Not busy." She sat down to rest against her headboard in the unmade bed. "Just drinking my morning coffee."

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt you." He sat in his living room, elbows resting against his knees. Slowly coming down from his panic attack he had a suffered a bit ago. All he wanted right now was to be near her, because when he was he seemed to breath a bit easier.

"No interruptions here." She was quick to not let him think he was a problem. "What was on your mind?"

"I needed-I wanted to see if you wanted to go for a run?"

She was taken back by a mere split second. "Sure, absolutely!" if he was going out his way to ask her to do anything she would have at the moment. "What did you have in mind?"

"I was actually going to ask you. You're better at direction then I am."

"How about Columbus Circle by Central Park? It looks like a nice enough day outside to finally get back to the park." It was mid March and she was just hoping that winter was long gone now for spring to take over.

"Sounds great to me." He was hoping she couldn't hear the relieved sigh that left his lips.

"Awesome, I'll see you there in about 20 minutes?"

With an agreement, the two hung up and Becca began to get ready. She did however hear the uneasiness in his voice that he was trying to hide. But he had reached out to her in one way or another and that was progress. The young Stark pulled on a pair of leggings, a t-shirt, and hoodie that she had no doubt would be taken off half way through the run. Grabbing her arm band for her phone, money, and key, she was out the door on her bright orange sneakers. She had lost count on the times Clint, Nat, or Garrett had abused her about the footwear but they were the comfiest footwear she found for running. Given being a dancer, her feet weren't exactly the prettiest in many ways, but they did her job.

Becca was overly joyed by the warmer temperature and sunny sky as she left her building. Just a few more weeks and she knew she could finally pull all of her shorts out of the dresser and no longer felt claustrophobic by the pants she had been sporting since fall had landed last year. She was a summer girl in every sense of the word.

It was a busy Sunday out in the city, everyone taking advantage of the weather, but she found her partner with ease stretching his long legs waiting for her.

"You picked a fabulous day for a run." She complimented him upon a few feet away.

"Thank you." He gave her a real, genuine smile upon seeing her. The tension he had been holding in his shoulder gone with her around.

She smiled just as wide back at him, but could see there was a problem in his eyes. Specifically, they were red and held bags under them. You would have only noticed though if you known him.

"So what's up with the early morning run?" Becca stretched her hamstrings. Steve simply shrugged, trying to push it off. She was going to ask once and that was it. "You want to talk about it?"

"Not entirely." His eyes not finding hers now. The blue looking over the people coming and going from the park.

"Okay." She nodded and started toward the entrance.

The super soldier's eye widened as he caught up with her easily. "That's it?"

"Yep."

"You're not going to keep asking?"

"Nope." She dead stopped, making him do the same since he was following right behind her like a puppy. "Why, do you want me to?"

"N-no, I just…"

"Was expecting me to harp you on it?"

His hands raised a foot at his sides, kind of gapping at her a second to catch his grounding. "I guess so."

"I asked once, you said no, I move on. That's how I am. I'm not going to keep asking you over and over. You know the door is open if you want to explain, but I won't badger you about it."

Steve swore everyday he was with her he found another quality that he was becoming astonished by in the best way possible. "Thank you.

"Absolutely. So, are going to take it easy on me or should I prepare to be picked up by an ambulance half through?"

He laughed with a shake of his head. "You won't need an ambulance." He watched her for a second before continuing on. "I'll just carry you the rest of the way without breaking a sweat."

She couldn't keep the shock of her face as she looked up at him in the sunlight. It was harder to process what just happen. "Oh, really! You got jokes? Oh, someone feels better all of the sudden!"

The two started off a jogging pace, getting a feel for each other. Seeing who liked the right or left better, who took leads around corners and so on. Becca pointed out a few things here or there as they went, taking their pace through the park. They came down to the water's edge and really started sprinting now, Steve getting his energy up to full speed. Becca tried her hardest but damn that boy could really run. He finally stopped further down, waiting on her to catch up.

"Damn it, Rogers." Becca let her hands rest on her knees, trying to catch her breath. "I swear to God, I'm not out of shape."

"No, you're definitely not." He laughed, hands just lightly resting on his hips as he watched her.

She knew his words didn't have a double meaning, but that didn't mean a blush didn't find it's way across her cheeks.

"Um, do you know her?" Steve pointed behind her, getting Becca to turn in haste, finally finding her breath. "Cause she's calling your name and coming over here."

Her hazel eyes found her blonde haired best friend rushing over to them with a wide smile on her face. Becca's quickly turned back to Steve and whispered before Eve would get to them. "Whatever you do don't bring up SHIELD."

"Okay, but why?"

"She has no idea about it." She mentioned before spinning back around just in time to greet the other girl with a smile.

"You're a sight for sore eyes." Eve hugged her tightly, the two girls having not seen each other in a few weeks. "Thanks for answering my text last night."

"I didn't get a text." Becca pulled out her phone confused, making sure she didn't miss it while Eve did the same. "Are you sure you sent it?"

"Yes. I wanted to see if you wanted to do a wine night," Eve let her bottom lip frown, "and I never hit send. Goddamn it, I suck."

The brown haired girl laugh and tucked her phone back away. "All good. I've been busy anyways."

"Clearly." In her usual fashion, not bashful in the slightest, her eyes raked over the tall man standing next to her best friend.

Becca rolled her eyes and slapped her arm. "Not like that, you freak." She hoped Steve didn't notice and made him uncomfortable at all, but he seemed to just be focused on the kinde ship between the two. "Eve this is Steve. Steve this is my big mouthed best friend, Eve."

"Big mouthed?" Eve took that as her cue to slap the other on the arm in anger, but knowing it was true. "I'll take it. Pleasure to meet you, Steve."

"Pleasures all mine, ma'am." He smiled, shaking the hand she offered him.

"Ma'am?" Eve smirked. The SHIELD agent could practically hear the gears working in her head. "Becca, dear, how did you find such a decent man in your life?"

"Eve, it's 9am on a Sunday, shouldn't you be hibernating from a night out at the clubs?"

"Haven't you heard, I'm a changed person. I go to bed early, have stopped drinking, and started evening going to church in the morning." All she got was a high eyebrow raise in return. "Okay, that is all a lie."

"Ya think!" Becca turned to Steve now to let him in a bit. "Eve and I met in college."

"And she hasn't been able to get rid of me since. How'd you two meet?"

Steve's eyebrows raised at the question directed at him, not fully knowing how to answer. "Oh, um-"

"Steve's an artist from Brooklyn." Becca took the charge, hopefully getting the heat off him. "We met at a gallery downtown."

"Ooo! An artist! That makes complete sense, you do have a type, Bec."

At this Steve's ear turned a bright shade of red, hand coming up to scratch at the back of his neck. Becca could feel the embarrassment off of him even if there was nothing between the two. "You're incorrigible, Eve."

"Ain't that the truth." A new voice entered the conversation, taking all three of them by surprise. Another young woman stopped beside Eve and greeted her with a kiss.

"And that's why you are up this early." Becca smirked, knowing her best friend to well.

Eve broke the kiss before looking back at her best friend. "I take back everything I just said. Cora," she pointed to the deep chocolate, curly haired girl next to her, "this is Becca S-"

Becca's giant eyes and the slight shake of her head stopped Eve from finishing that sentence. She knew 'Stark' was going to be next thing that came out of her mouth, but it was one thing for Steve to know her last name, it was another for a complete stranger to know it.

"-Steve. Becca and Steve." The former ballerina fixed herself, hopefully that no one would take notice.

The two greeted Cora, Steve more apprehensive than Becca. But she just took it as another new person to meet.

"It's great to meet you both, but we've got to get going." Cora smiled at them before looking back at Eve.

"Right! Sorry, we're apartment hunting this morning."

Steve noticed Becca automatically tense up at the statement, clearly getting taken back by it. But he fully couldn't understand why since he just met the two girls standing in front of them.

Eve must have also noticed the reaction before quickly finishing her thought. "For Cora."

Becca nodded, still a bit clammed up about it. "Well you don't want to be late." She pulled a smile back on her face again to make it believable.

"I'll call you later." Eve squeezed Becca's hand, before the four of them said their goodbyes to each other.

While she watched the two walk away, Steve's eyes stayed on Becca. Trying to read her but she was very good at putting up a wall. Now he understood why she was always trying to get him to open up to her, it was aggravating.

"You okay, Rebecca?" His hand gently brushed against her forearm from where she had them crossed against her chest.

"Hmm?" She murmured looking up at him. His blue eyes held worry and confusion. "Yeah, sorry. I spaced there for a second."

"Is something wrong?"

"You worried about me?"

Steve scoffed, but played along. "Would it be so bad if I said yes?"

"Not a damn bit." A soft grin replaced her solemn face. "I just worry about Eve. She never picks the right people to be with. And her going apartment hunting, even if it's not for her, with a girl she just started dating has my worry meter at a ten." She nudged her head and the two started walking their route back to where they started.

He heard her choice of words and decided he would ask. "So, Eve dates girls?"

"No, Eve dates boys and girls. She's bi." She watched his usual forehead wrinkle appear when he was trying to understand something. "She's bisexual. Meaning she is attracted to both guys and girls."

She left it at that, seeing what his reaction would be. But she couldn't judge much by the simple "Huh" leaving his lips.

"Is that a problem?"

"Not at all." He shook his head rapidly, looking down at her. "People should be able to be with whoever they want."

Him saying those words right there truly made her swoon for Steve Rogers. He was from a different time and she was very nervous he would judge that idea, especially given that it was her best friend. But there he goes surprising her again.

"I think Eve is really great by the way. She compliments you perfectly."

"Thanks Steve. That truly means a lot."

"She kind of reminds me of-"

Becca looked up to see why he had abruptly stopped mid-sentence, but all she found was his happy mood from a second ago shift to guarded again. She had a feeling she understood exactly who he wanted to say, but saying that name would bring up a whole new level of emotional baggage they weren't at yet.

She gently grabbed his arm, stopping him from their pace to look up at him. "We don't have to touch that subject yet."

"I'm just not ready to open that chapter yet." He cleared his throat, fighting off the suffocating feeling of the loss of his best friend. Especially after the nightmare he had of it the night before.

"All in time, my friend." She softly squeezed his forearm and they continued on their journey together.

* * *

I'm just so in love with these two fools already! Damn do they have such a future ahead of them.

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR MY REBECCA!**


	11. Heart of Gold

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Heart of Gold - Birdy

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

You all are FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! OMG the last chapter outdid anything I've ever posted in just 48 hours and I was truly tripping on something!

We're very close to The Avengers, like so close...so so so close.

* * *

****

**Heart of Gold**

_I can be strong when I want to be_

_You think I'm weak 'cause you can tear me apart_

_With the words that you speak_

_You think you're in control but you don't understand_

_How much you are wrong_

_When my heart is made from gold_

_And forgiveness seems too bold_

_**April 2012** _

She would admit, Becca was in a way kind of excited to be doing history lesson after history lesson. She had always enjoyed school, History and English being her favorites. Anything she could get her nose stuck in a book and lose her mind for a few hours she enjoyed. Her apartment contained more books than movies she had no doubt. And it helped that Steve was very similar. Over the past few weeks now they had grown closer each day they spent together. Whether they were just sitting by each other reading, working out whether that be running or her joining him at the gym, or her teaching him simplicities of this new world. They have found an easy rhythm with each other. Which brought them to where they were now.

They decided to spend the morning getting lost in the American Museum of Natural History. Steve for the most part was up to anything Becca suggested, which made her on the constant search of things for the two of them to do. It wasn't that complicated seeing as Becca started with her favorites and worked out form there. But she also knew he was searching the city on his own in the times she had to be at SHIELD.

At the moment, she was across the room from him, taking their own time in the Space section. Explaining to Steve that we had landed on the moon and so on was in a way challenging, especially for Becca now knowing there actually were other beings out there. Namely a God that decided to bring his presences to Earth. Becca watched him from afar, hands stuffed in his pockets as he intently read the paragraphs and paragraphs in front of him. There were school kids and tourists scattered about but no one bothered him. He would simply smile at them when he crossed their paths and keep going. Eager to learn anything he could get his hands on. Right now, he was just a face in the crowd. No one knew who he was or what he had been through, and all she could do was wish upon him to stay unknown for as long as possible. A difference for her, who had a baseball hat slung low on her face to not alert anyone of the young Stark.

The two found their way back to each other before finishing up the exhibit and hitting the gift shop. Steve simply looked around while Becca stole a few minutes to herself to buy them each something. He followed behind her as they left the building, him trying to get her to say what was in the bag. His nagging finally got to her while she stopped on the giant marble steps.

"You're being weird. What did you get?" Steve hovered over her, trying to catch a peak of what was in the bag.

She pulled the bag to the other side of her body, away from his grabby hands. "I'm not being weird, you're just being nosy."

"I'm going to go with a bit of both." He stepped down a step to be in eyeline with her now. "I'll admit I'm impatient if you just show me what you got."

Becca rose an eyebrow at his words. "That sounds like a whole lot of you winning. What do I get?"

"My undying gratitude."

The chuckle that was followed by the shaking of her head couldn't be resisted. "You are something else, Rogers."

"So, I've been told. By you a few times, actually." His fingers pulled at the bottom of the plastic bag in her hands.

She rolled her eyes with a sigh, before finally pulling out the contents inside. "I got 2 keychains; one a spaceship and the other an astronaut. You can pick which one calls to you."

"The spaceship."

"I had a feeling." She handed the small charm off to him, who pulled his keys out of his pocket to attach it. "And…" her hand dropped her own keychain back in the bag pulled out another metallic looking bag, "ice cream!"

"This is not ice cream." He looked at her as if she was ridiculous, pushing his keys back in his pocket. He might have lost out on a few things in life, but he very much knew ice cream was a frozen product that shouldn't be just hanging out on a random shelf.

"It's astronaut ice cream!" Becca poked her tongue out at him, liking the lack of height difference between them right now. It wasn't that Steve towered over her all the time, but it gave her neck a break in the bright sun that was out in this April afternoon. "It's freeze-dried. All the water is taken out of it."

"Have you tried it before?" He read over the Neapolitan bag in her hands as she attempted to open it.

"Nope." She grunted, still not able to rip the top off. "We can try it together...if the damn thing wants to open!"

"Need some help there, muscles?" The sarcasm was answered with a glare, and then a pout when she still couldn't do it. Her bottom lip jutted out with the sad eyes as she held the bag out for him. Steve chuckled, taking the bag from her and easily peeling off the top portion. "You're welcome."

"This is why I keep you around." She took the extra plastic from him and slipped it into her museum bag to throw away later.

"I don't know about this." He pulled a pink piece out of the bag, feeling adventurous with strawberry as his first taste.

Becca shrugged, stealing a piece of chocolate from the bag he held out for her. "Cheers!"

The two hesitantly dropped their respective pieces in their mouths. Each had a different reaction to the taste. While Steve hummed in enjoyment, Becca wanted nothing to do with it.

"It tastes like chalk." She scrunched her face in disgust, tongue coming out to try to get the taste out of her mouth.

"No, it doesn't." He countered back, shaking the bag to find another piece. "It tastes like ice cream, just warm."

"Gross."

The tall blonde tried the chocolate this time to see if she was right. "I think it tastes fine."

"Well that's what you get for a 40s sense of taste." She got a glare in return this time. "What? If you're gonna dish it out, I'll throw it right back." Daring him to retaliate, which he didn't, simply enjoying the easiness that has developed between the two in the past two months.

He simply shrugged, popping another piece in his mouth. "You want any more?"

"All yours." She took a step around him and started down the stone steps with him following. She grabbed her keychain out of the bag before throwing the garbage away.

"You know, they went out of their way to make sure soldiers got ice cream in the war?"

You could practically hear her neck snap as she looked up at him under her hat brim at the comment. This was the first time he had brought up that part of his life to her, and she wasn't expecting it to be strolling down the street on a spring afternoon. "I didn't."

He nodded, eyes searching the bag again for his flavor of choice at the moment. "They banned alcohol years before that, but they started shipping out ice cream. Other countries started to ban it, but the U.S. spent more money. They said it was for the calorie intake but we knew the real reason."

"Which was?" She asked timidly, not knowing what would be too much for him.

"Comfort." Steve locked eyes with her for a second as they waited at the crosswalk. She expected to see ghosts of his past flash through his eyes, but they were still the bright blue she had been looking at all day. He looked both ways and guided her across the intersection, something he had been doing since their first meeting. "What's your favorite flavor?" He asked, expertly changing the subject.

"Mint Chocolate. Anything mint actually." She thought about for a second, stuffing her hands in the front pocket of her zip-up hoodie. "But I also can't deny peanut butter. Everything unhealthy I'm a fan of, let's be real."

Steve let out a laugh at her admission, throwing his now empty package in the trash as they walked by. "I want to try those."

"That is literally like the best excuse you ever gave me to go buy way too much ice cream that would fit in my freezer."

"I won't complain."

She simply smiled at the ground, keeping up with his long legs. The innocent moment was sadly ruined by the sound of her phone ringing from her bag. Steve moved the two over in-between the large plants that sat on the curb to get out of everyone's way as Becca found her phone. At seeing the name, she cleared her throat and straighten her shoulders. "This is Agent Bex."

"I'm calling you in." Director Fury greeted from the opposite line on the phone. "When can you get here?"

"I could be there in about 10 minutes." She thought about the walk down to midtown in the afternoon traffic.

"Alright. Would the Captain be with you by chance?"

Becca looked up at Steve who had been watching her intently since the conversation began. He has watched her turn from Rebecca to Agent Bex in a split second. "He is."

"If he wouldn't mind accompanying you to headquarters, I'd like to speak with him as well."

"Will do, sir. I'll be there in a few." With Fury's goodbye, the two hung up their conversation until she got there. "Fury." She explained, dropping the phone back in her bag. "I've been called in and he was wondering if you would come talk to him as well."

He was taken back by the question, surprise clearly on his face. He hadn't been back to SHIELD since the first day he was back in the city after he was at the safe house for a few months. "Sure."

Becca could feel his hesitance but simple nodded, and took the lead this time to get to the office. The conversation that was once easy between them had grown silent. For her it was being called into work, normal. For him, he was heading into the piranha tank. He followed a step behind Becca, or now Agent Bex that she had transformed into, to the elevator and to towards Nick Fury's office. Maria Hill had intercepted the two before they fully made their way to the office.

"Agent Bex, Captain Rogers." Agent Hill nodded at the two.

Becca nodded at the older women before introducing Steve. "This is Agent Hill, she works directly with Director Fury."

Steve understood the pass to the office now. "Ma'am." He nodded, letting his hand come out to shake hers which she returned.

"Agent Bex, Director Fury asked me to send you straight to STRIKE Intel."

"Will do." She nodded again, and turned to leave but not before giving Steve a bit of encouragement. "I'll see you in a bit."

He nodded back before watching her stalk back down the hallway. The tether between them needed to be broken at some point to walk on his own.

"Are you ready, Captain?"

Steve turned back to Maria and assured her. She guided him to the office, opening it and allowing him to walk through ahead of her. At the sound of his office door opening, Fury turned from his work and found the two.

"Thank you, Agent Hill." Said woman nodded with a smile and exiting the office, leaving the two men on their own. "Captain Rogers. It's good to see you out." The Director walked over to shake the man's hand in greeting before guiding him over to the seat opposite his desk.

"Agent Bex explained you wanted to see me." Steve skipped the pleasantries, not feeling the small talk with an almost stranger still after a pleasant morning with Becca.

"I did." He nodded, clasping his hands together on the desk. "I wanted to catch up in how things were going."

"With her?"

Fury shrugged, not trying to make this a business meeting. But he also understood that's where the soldier's mindset was at. "With her, with adjusting. Anything like that."

"It is what it is, I guess. But Agent Bex has been more than helpful." Steve didn't feel up being open about himself to someone he truly didn't know, but he had no problem praising Becca for everything she had done.

"More than helpful?" The director rose his eyebrow. "As in she's doing too much?"

"No, not in the slightest. Not that's she's doing too little either. She's...she's just been patient and extremely open-minded."

"Good. The is honestly what I wanted to hear."

"Is that all, sir?" Steve held his hands tight against the arms of the chair. The coldness of the metal keeping him calm in the situation.

"No, actually." Fury cleared his throat before leaving back in his chair for a different angle. "Given on how you are adjusting to the world, I wanted to see where the offer stood on working for SHIELD."

Steve's eyes held his knowing this conversation was going to come up but wasn't sure when. Honestly, in the past two months being with Becca he had forgotten about the offer. He didn't know if he wanted to be a part of the organization, but he also didn't know what else he would do with his life.

"I still am not completely sure." He admitted, pure honesty.

"Have you looked over the folders I have given you?"

"Yes."

"Then you understand where this organization came from. Correct?"

Of course, he did. It was one of the first things he took notice to upon opening the memories. 3 of the most important people in his prior life had begun SHIELD. He just didn't have a set reason on why they had done so and how it had gotten to the point they were at now. But he hadn't looked at those folders, again, since the safe house. It was almost as if coming back to the city meant starting over. "It is much more than that, Director."

Fury nodded his head. "I understand. I just want to you to know that option is there for you, Captain. It can be on your terms."

He knew he needed to start thinking about it again, it needed to become a priority. And with the thought of Becca probably going out on a mission it gave him a tiny bit of incentive. He trusted Becca, in the best way he possible could in a new world. It was her heart that truly was captivating. It was hard for him to picture her in a mission given the fact of how warm she was to people, but he also knew he wasn't about to test that theory. She might have tried to hide the knives that she had stashed around her apartment but he found them. Also, he had taken to more than once finding her twirling one of her pocket knives around her fingers. It was a sight.

"Can I have a bit longer to think about it?"

"Yes." The Director was not one to handle apprehension well, exactly why he put Agent Bex on this, but he was trying to understand the situation. "Just let Agent Bex know when you are ready."

* * *

"Edwin Lopez. Conglomerate of Colombia. Net worth higher than any of our heads. Currently, in ranking to becoming an elected official." Brock Rumlow stood in front of the digital screen, showing the step by step rundown of the targets for the STRIKE Team. "Let's just say the money is running the campaign. Javier Lopez. The son. His father is gearing up to make him the next in line for the family business. But he's the essence of every over privileged kid; parties, spends money on reckless things, and no doubt has all the drugs he needs in his sight. This is what everyone knows. What everyone doesn't know is that he is making a deal to buy 25 grams of plutonium, worth at least $100,000."

Becca let out a heavy breath, as did the other agents, leaning back in her metal chair. Along with herself and Rumlow, the other Agents in the room included Rumlow's second, Jack Rollins, Garrett Neilsen, and another new agent that she hadn't worked with yet, Chris Lawrence. She was the one clearly out of place at the moment, given this was a team on its own and currently her team was stationed in different parts of the world.

"Tomorrow Night," Rumlow continued, "there will be a gala held in Phoenix, Arizona. Both Lopez's will be attending and we believe this is where the exchange is going to be taking place. We will be intercepting the delivery."

"Who's the dealer?" Rollins rubbed his jaw, looking over the information.

"An off buy from Ten Rings. They are using this event as an off to transfer the product, and then back over the state lines. No doubt now wants to be part of the weapons game if Lopez does become elected."

"So, both father and son, are a part of the deal?" Garrett was sitting forward in his seat.

"We only believe it's the son wanting to partake in this, but we're going to be looking at both. The son more so."

At the ending of his words his eyes shifted to land on Becca, which had her raising an eyebrow. "What do you need me to do?"

"Your role is seductress." Rumlow handed her a manila folder with the name Victoria Rosensmith written in black marker. "The daughter of a millionaire who is looking into investing. That should be a foolproof disguise for you."

She knew the man was trying to get a rise out of her like he always does, she could feel the other men's eyes flashing back and forth between the two, ready for a showdown. But she would do what she always did; held her head high. "No problem here."

Rumlow's arms crossed almost disappointed she didn't start a fight once again. "Neilsen will be on the inside with you. The three of us will be stationed outside to watch for transfer, you just need to keep him occupied long enough to let us intercept and get them to the authorities."

The five finished up a few more things before they were sent their ways to get geared up, leaving in an hour. Becca headed to her office to get her gear bag before heading to the 'costume' room to find a dress suitable for the gala. As she stepped out of the elevator, her eyes landed on the tall soldier leaning against her door down the hallway. "I didn't think you'd still be here."

Steve's head snapped over to her, that soft smile back on her face that was there this morning before they were called in. "I didn't know how long you'd be, so I figured I'd wait a bit longer before heading out." He leaned against the door frame to let her unlock the wooden door for the two of them.

"That's sweet of you." His kindness right now was outshining Rumlow's awfulness. With the door open she bent down and picked up the mail that had been slid under Delta's door for the agents. "How'd you find it anyways?"

"Agent Hill gave me a quick guide through the building." His eyes looked over the office, seeing the three desks which he quickly determined to be her partner's desks. He wondered when he would get to meet the famous Barton and Romanoff that Becca had nothing but good words about. "You get called out?"

"Yeah, I leave in about an hour." She put Clint and Natasha's mail on their respective desks before setting her folder for STRIKE and the envelope on her own. The envelope confusing her since there was something hard and circular in it.

His hands immediately went back to his front pockets of his khakis. He was nervous about her being called out for a mission even though she seemed to be cool about it. Just so many memories we're circulating through and it was making him anxious. She was a skilled and trained agent, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be worried about her. "How long?"

Becca finally looked up from her mail at the tick she heard in his voice. She was getting good at reading him and picking up the little things he would do when he got tense over topics. "It should only be a few days. I'm heading out with the team, so I'll have plenty of back up."

All Steve could do was nod and decided to take a seat on the couch that was in the corner. "Nice office, by the way."

"Well thank you." The agent pulled her bag out of the 3-door cabinet that almost worked as lockers for them. "Kind of lonesome by yourself though."

"I can understand that." He watched her start packing clothing along with some weapons in the small duffle. "Don't they have an arsenal for you?"

"Yeah, it's all downstairs. This is just a few of my own things." Becca held up a double-sided dagger that Clint had given her as a present when she first ranked up and a case of throwing stars that Natasha had given her after never using them herself.

"You know, if I didn't know you, I would think you're crazy as you smiled wide holding up weapons."

"I was going for psychopath, but I'll take crazy." She continued her mission routine about the room with his eyes following her everywhere she went. "So what did Fury want?"

"Just asking how I was adjusting." His fingers traced the fabric on the arm of the couch. "How you were helping me."

"So, you told him I've been kicking your ass and dragging you around the city on a leash?"

Steve shook his head, but a grin was still present. "You're something else."

She shrugged, zipping the bag shut. "So I've been told." Their words opposite of the same conversation they had only about an hour before.

"I do appreciate everything you've done for me, Becca." His words sincere, making sure not to break eye contact with her so she understood that. She didn't know if it was his words, the kindness in his blue eyes, or the fact that this was the first time he had called her Becca, that had her body tingling and cheeks grow a light shade of pink. This was such a different Steve Rogers than the one she had laid eyes on so many months ago, or just beginning to talk to him two months ago. His shoulders we're no longer hunched over with his neck down, trying to get lost. At least around her.

She was about to respond when Garrett came clambering into the room, whistling his own tune. It came to a stop when he saw the look in between the two people in the room. "Umm...should I come back?"

Becca finally was released from Steve's gaze and the blush deepened at Garrett's arrival. "N-no. I was just finishing up packing. Uh, Captain S-Steve Rogers, Agent Garrett Neilsen." Steve stood and shook hands with the agent after her introduction.

"Captain Rogers, it is an honor." Garrett was sincere. He had heard all the stories as well about the hero, so this was also a great moment for him.

"It's great to meet you as well, Agent. Bex has said you're apart of STRIKE as well." Steve remembered her talking about the man in front of him in passing before.

"Aww, you've been talking about me?" Garrett wrapped an arm around her neck as Becca had come next to the two men now. He had no problem rousing her in the slightest though.

"You're such a shit, Gar." She elbowed him in the ribs to get him to stop pressing her, but he still kept the arm around her shoulders. "We need to go?"

"Yeah, they need us to get suited up for tomorrow night."

She nodded up at him before looking back at Steve. He had been watching their interaction with a touch of intimidation at seeing the arm still around her. The last two months he had been so use to Becca being there with him almost every day, Steve had forgotten that she had a whole life outside of him. He guessed it was a touch of jealousy, but it was just knowing he had to share that warm smile that she gave everyone she was in contact with.

"I'll be there in a few minutes, okay?" Becca looked up at Garrett and saw him agree to that. The two men quickly said their goodbyes and the other agent left the room. "He's a bit of a handful sometimes but he means well." She explained on her way back to her desk to check her bag one last time.

"Promise you'll be careful?" The desperation was in Steve's voice, getting her to turn back to him. "I know you can handle yourself, I have no doubt about that. Just...just please promise me you'll come back in one piece." His voice was no higher than a whisper in the quiet office. They could hear the sound of work being done from the hallway, but right here and now was all that mattered.

"I promise, I'll be back before you even known I'm gone." That's all that she could say, feeling the like the world was melting under her feet each time he looked at her today.

Steve simply nodded. "I'll see you soon, Becca." And with one last sad smile he walked out of the office.

The young girl had to take a second to breathe and find herself back on solid ground. This man was becoming more and more of a liability to herself without either of them realizing it. She gathered her thoughts to let the persona of Agent Bex to return and zipped up her bag. She grabbed the bag and her folder, taking a glance one last time at the mysterious envelope. Deciding she would deal with it when she returned, the girl locked the office door behind her.

* * *

"I've been compromised."

Those were three words Agent Bex never thought she would have had to say on any mission of this desire. It wasn't even fully her fault, just the fact that they should have known being the actual daughter of a billionaire would eventually catch up to her. Her face alone would have eventually been her downfall and that's where she was.

The mission started out simple. She got all dolled up, easily becoming the character of Victoria while Garrett played a waiter so he had eyes all around the gala. It was an easy character for her to transform into. She simply used her usual Stark Attitude when she was forced to one of the events and then she dosed up on the overly flirtatious way, and that was who Victoria was. She mingled around the gala, keeping her eyes open for the first sign of the son, Javier Lopez. Once the son and father had their welcoming parade into the room, she played like a cool cat. Constantly making eye contact with him across the room with a subtle purse to her lips and swaying body movements.

At some point in the night, one of Javier's bodyguards had come over to her, giving her an invitation to the son's inner circle. Becca, or Victoria, agreed with a shy smile and was led to the young man. The two drank and flirted, she being more coy to keep him interested which was clearly working. But she could feel the eye pressure on her, and not just the kind where people wished to be in your shoes. This was the kind that was on to who she was, and she had to act her way out of this one. By the time she felt almost sick of the feeling, Javier explained he needed to do some business for a bit, which she was sure code for 'Hey, I've got to go sell some highly illegal and expensive material, just chill for a bit'. As Becca, went to try to casually stop him a large bodyguard, way bigger than she had ever seen came over with hand on her arm as Javier was taken away.

"I would recognize a Stark anywhere."

Those were the words that were whispered in her ear before everything turned upside down. Becca tried to play it cool that she didn't know what he was talking about but he wasn't taking it back. She turned around, getting Garrett's attention and letting the other from the earcom know they had to go about this a different way.

Which brought her where she was now, a day later back in Director Fury's office, in a heated 'discussion' with Rumlow.

"She can't be on STRIKE anymore. She nearly jeopardized the entire mission and got all of us killed!" The STRIKE agent had his arms crossed tightly again this chest.

"But I didn't though. The second that I knew I was compromised I got out, and made sure we went to plan B just like we planned." Becca was utterly done being treated like the gum under your shoe by her colleague.

"Well we wouldn't have had to go to plan B if we didn't have someone who was such a high price factor on their hands! Maybe you should have been out on a mission the past 2 months instead of babysitting." Rumlow glared down at her with such force you would swear she was going to melt to her shoes. "But clearly you can't get anything done without your two teammates!"

"Agent Rumlow!" Director Fury finally raised from his seat, a type of annoyance written across his face that Becca had never seen before as he stared the other man down. "Did you finish the mission?"

"Yes sir, but-"

"-Was the plutonium collected and the officials notified?"

"...yes."

"Did anyone die on this mission or was any part of it not completed?"

Rumlow cleared his throat with a shake of his head, dropping his arms back to his side. "No sir."

Fury leaned his hands against his desk, getting closer to him. "Then you better watch your tone, Agent, before you say one more thing that will resort in consequences." Neither of them knew if Fury was haven't a bad day before they walked in, but he sure was having one now that they were back. "You are a STRIKE team member of SHIELD. You do not act like that in my building. If that's going to be a problem for you, I have no hesitation to move your entire team to DC to shape up. Let's see if Pierce wants to handle your behavior instead."

He nodded, jaw clenched, but nodded anyway. "I understand, sir."

"Now get out of my office."

Becca looked up, not knowing if that involved her as well, but Fury's eye was strictly on Rumlow's back as he left. As the door closed, the older man fell back into his seat, gesturing to Becca to have a seat in her own chair across the desk.

"That man," Fury rubbed his chin his thoughts of how to say his next words, "he's been a hothead since the day we recruited him. Never knows when to just stop talking...but he's still one of the best agents we have."

She nodded, pushing her hair behind her ears. She did feel horrible about the way the mission turned out, but she thought she had handled as well as she could given the situation. "Guess I should have expected this at some point."

"We've known this would possibly be a problem down the line, especially with your father's role in the world right now. The fact that we actually got over 4 years' worth of quiet is entirely shocking. I suppose we should start talking about what to do from here and your place in SHIELD."

"In SHIELD meaning away from missions?"

"Not in the slightest." The director shook his head, his mood changing to back to one of understanding then where he was with Rumlow. "You are one of the best we have, not just agents. You hold compassion, Bex. That's something that is lacking around here, but you should also know that's something that might be a downfall to you somewhere."

She knew that. Clint had told her that many times before, but it was also helpful for her. She was great at reading people, feeling them out to get what she wanted. It came hand in hand for what she was good at. "What are you saying, sir?"

"I'm saying that you have a choice to make. Someday, sometime, people are going to realize you are a Stark. It's your choice to make whether you present that fact to people or let them find out on their own."

Becca had always thought about her life as trying to fight against the system. Trying to constantly fight for something that she can call her own, but she can't run from her family name forever.

"When that choice comes," Fury continued, "you will have to take the path you are continuing in SHIELD or take a step back. That is your choice to make."

"I want to be here." Her voice of pure determination. "I wouldn't have fought for everything in the past 4 years to throw it all away. I don't quit."

"I know you don't."

"I want to be here, in SHIELD, doing what I think is best for the people who can't protect themselves. I know my compassion or selflessness might get the best of me, but I also don't want to turn into a cold-hearted person who can't understand suffering. I just...I'd rather know where my loyalties lie with people in a mission or in this organization, than have people bowing at my feet for no other reason than the fact that I'm a Stark."

"That's all I ask of you, Becca."

She walked back to her office with her head in a fog. She knew she was a high insurance factor on this last mission. Everything could have ended badly if she had acted out with the bodyguard recognizing her. She was a big risk for everyone involved, Garrett almost getting the brunt of it from him trying to get her out of the situation unscathed. The man had the gun pointed right at his head, but they were able to get out. Everything, one way or another, had turned out okay.

But her guilt was overriding the accomplishments.

As she opened the office door, seeing it the same way she had left it, made her feel truly alone. Everything Fury said was true, she needed to open up her life, but who would be at fault because of her declaration. She had to stop putting the people that cared about her at risk of exposure, and that was her price to pay.

Becca's eyes landed on the envelope from a few days ago that she had left there. She tore the yellow package and first pulled out the paper.

_For Captain Rogers, when you believe he's ready._

_-Coulson_

She let the paper fall to her desk before turning over the package in her outturned hand. Out came falling the round item, that she now understood to be a compass. She twirled the compass around her hand, taking in the discolored metal. She gently pushed in the side button and watched as the top flipped open. The normal compass was on the bottom while the top had her breath catch in her throat. An old, torn picture of one Peggy Carter was tucked around the edges to stay in place.

Becca's legs fell out from under her, sitting down in her chair. She felt claustrophobic at seeing the picture, a whole battle of emotions fighting inside of her. Steve hadn't talked about her yet. He had barely talked about anyone of his past, specifically anyone he had contact with those last few years before the crash. To her it was a lifetime ago, to him he was with them just a few months prior. He was fighting a different war, he was mourning the death of what she understood to be his best friend, he was in love with this woman. Despite how close Steve and Becca had become, they were still separated by too many things to count.

And even with everything that she was feeling and how horrible the past few days had been, she just wanted his company. She wanted to tell him everything and him to do the same.

The brunette carefully tucked the compass away in her bag before locking her office and heading out of the building. It was late afternoon and Becca just wanted it to be summer already so she could be out in the sun 24/7. With a quick stop at the grocery store, she was at Steve's apartment. She twirled the plastic bag in her fingers as she knocked on the wood door. It wasn't long before she was back to looking up at those blue eyes.

"Hey there."

Steve's eyes widened in relief at not just seeing her standing in the opposite side of the door, but in one piece. He wanted to pull her into a hug, to feel that she was there. That she had come back, but he didn't think they were at that level yet. All he could do was smile back at her. "Hi."

"Told you I'd be back before you know it." She walked over the threshold he had gestured for her. "And I come baring gifts."

"You seem to always do." He said softly, noticing her slight lack of energy from what he just assumed was from the mission. He jutted his head towards the bag. "What did you bring?"

"Any type of ice cream I thought appropriate for you to try." She grinned, handing him the plastic bag to take a peak. He laughed, pulling out a few of the points to see the flavor. "You shouldn't have given me this leverage, I told you I was ruthless for ice cream."

"I had no doubt." He shook his head, and looked back at her tired eyes. "Why don't you take a seat and I'll put these in the freezer. You want water?"

"Always." She sighed falling onto his couch, her jacket and bag pooling off of her body to the floor. Her eyes found the folders and his laptop opened on the coffee table. The screen had a paused video up, while the folders all consisted of what she could tell was SHIELD Intel. But the ones that made her throat dry was her father's and grandfather's sitting on top.

"How was the mission?" He asked, coming back in with a glass for her.

"What?" Her eyes redirected to him, just not hearing exactly what he said from her former eyesight.

"The mission. Good? Bad?" He handed her the glass before taking a seat beside her on the sofa.

"It was…" She took a drink to steady her nerves that had just stood on end at seeing her family in the paperwork. "It was something. Um...I was compromised, but we were able to complete it."

She was expecting him to ask how. How? Because she was a Stark and she had been lying to almost everyone she had come in contact with for the past 4 years. The only people that had known everything about her were two assassins who have become her family. Because she was a liar and mistrusting, and she was putting everyone in danger. And she was ultimately scared of pushing him away.

That's what she wanted to say. She just wanted to lay it all out of the line here and there. But once again, Steve had to go and surprise her. "Well...I'm just really glad you're okay."

"What have you been up to?" She nodded at the table, pushing away the mission talk anymore. She just wanted to know how much he knew about them.

He cleared his throat, pushing the folders slightly back from the edge of the table. "So, Director Fury didn't just ask about how I've been doing the other day. He also asked on if I've thought about joining SHIELD."

"And...what did you say?"

"That I had to think about it." Steve shrugged just one shoulder, looking at her before back to the papers. "I mean these people, these people helped me to become this guy."

"Captain America."

"Yeah, I mean my whole life I was trying to help the little guy. And I met these group of people who for once understood my outlook on life and they created this organization. But now I'm in a world with this," he picked up Tony's report, "guy who clearly doesn't have that same thought that his father had."

Becca dropped her head to play with the small tear at the knee of her jeans. She understood what he was saying, sort of had the same ideals as him, but this was still her father. And it made a clear line now where she would stand with him when her last name would finally be mentioned.

"I just…" He dropped the paper back on the table and rested his chin his hand. "I don't know what else I would even do at this point. And helps that you're there. It gives me a little hope that this could actually be something I see myself a part of." He looked over at her and saw she was playing now with a small knife that she had pulled from her belt. If he hadn't have seen her do it before he might have felt anxious, but he had found out this was Becca's way of handling a situation. The knife spun around her fingers with ease. Everything about her was ease. From the way that she moved to her voice.

"I can help whenever you're ready." She whispered, eyes not meeting his though.

He took that time now to carefully place his hand over her, letting the knife halt its action in her palm. Though hazel eyes that were a touch more brown today finally looked up at him, exhaustion sitting just behind them. "I appreciate everything you are doing, Becca."

The nod she gave was ever so slight, but she knew he saw it from the soft smile that was placed on his lips. She wanted to fall into those blue pools but her leg felt heavy from the object that sat in there from earlier.

"The ice cream wasn't the only thing I brought." Her voice still soft as she started unzipping her bag.

"...alright." He said with confusion about her changing back to the original conversation. His hand coming to rest back in lap, feeling warm from her skin.

The cold metal came in contact with her palm, taking it out before she had a second thought. "This might be a lot, but it's yours and you deserve to have it."

His face remained emotionless at the sight of his compass resting safely in her palm that didn't hold the knife. He had thought it was gone, lost when he went down. But there it was, a bit weared down but still intact. Steve carefully took the object from her, feeling the familiar weight in his hand. Clicking the latch, the sight of the old picture instantly bringing the emotions to the forefront. Becca felt the energy in the room switch.

He closed the compass and let his head rest back into his hand that was holding it. Leaning forward to try to take any deep breaths that he could. She let her hand lay soft on his back, trying to soothe him without overwhelming his situation.

"T-thank you." Tears filled his voice but she didn't know if he was crying or not from his position. She just continued to rub his back. The walls that they had built up against each other were slowly chipping away.

* * *

Stecca just really needs to open up to each other before it's too later.

Up Next: Secretary Ross is becoming problem, more cute Stecca, & a very important phone call from Coulson.

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR MY REBECCA!**


	12. Control

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Control - Halsey

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

Are you ready for the beginning of what you all really really want? Because we're here!

* * *

****

**Control**

_I'm bigger than my body_  
_I'm colder than this home_  
_I'm meaner than my demons_  
_I'm bigger than these bones_

_**May 1 2012** _

She sat at the end of the bed, head held in her hands trying to gather her thoughts as best as possible. But as her fingers ran through her oily roots of her hair, she felt sick. As quickly as possible, Becca hurried to the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Water ran cold out of the faucet and she proceeded to throw it on her face, the nauseous feeling sinking back. The young girl turned the water off and let her fingers hold tightly to the porcelain basin, finally looking up to see her reflection. She looked a mess.

The entire night was a mess. Becca agreed to a night out with Garrett and a few of their colleagues, in the desperate need to let loose for a nights. She had invited Steve but he wasn't up for it, which she completely understood. Hell, she wasn't a crazy partier either, but this was just a few drinks with a few friends. A few drinks turned into a few shots, turned into heavy flirtation between Becca and Garrett and then all of the sudden they were sharing a cab back to his apartment. And now here she was, waking up from a night spent together in his bed.

That's when everything clearly clicked in her head. And she needed to get out of there ASAP.

For a STRIKE agent, it was beyond easy for Becca to slip around the apartment and gather her things. By the time she was ready to sneak out the door he was still face down in the pillows. As she closed the door, that's when the nausea came brewing back to the surface of what she just did. The bright April sun was shining to an extreme at the 7AM making her more self conscious at what just happen. It was like every person was staring at her, knowing what had happened the night before.

She couldn't go back to her apartment. She couldn't sit alone in her thoughts. She needed to talk it out, desperately. She grabbed two coffees and started her walk to the apartment she needed right now. At the door, being careful of the hot drinks, Becca buzzed the apartment.

"I swear to God, I will kill whoever you are." A tired voice came through the intercom after several buzzes.

"Eve, let me up."

She didn't have to say anything else as the door unlocked beside her. For once Becca actually took the elevator up to her best friend's apartment on the 9th floor. She was just too exhausted to move her body anymore than she had too. Eve was already standing at the door, blonde hair a mess and just a tanktop and shorts covering her arms crossed body, when the doors opened to her floor.

"This better be worth it, Stark. Do you know what time it is?"

The brunette trudged over to her, holding the respective coffee out as a peace offering. "I fucked up."

Eve could see the guilty look in her eye and along with her cursing, she knew this was serious. "Get inside." Her words were softer, knowing she didn't go out of her way for help like this often. "What's going on?"

Becca cleared her throat, looking over at the bedroom door that was ajar. "Is anyone here?"

"No. Just you and me." The two made their way to the couch, each taking a side to lean against the arm rest. Legs almost intertwining with each other as they sipped on their coffee. This is how the two have managed issues in their life together since they had met. All they needed was a couch, coffee, and each other. Neither of them had a friendship growing up like they had finally with one another. They guessed it was true what they said about how friendships in college were stronger than others. "Tell me, would ya."

With one more sip of her coffee, Becca just said it. "I slept with Garrett."

To say Eve was surprised was an understatement. Especially since her friend really hadn't brought up that name in almost a year. "Oh...okay. And I guess a congratulations aren't in order than." She received a glare in return. "What? You guys were so hot on one another for so long, in never made any sense how you didn't get together. Or at least hook up."

"Because I'm not that person. I've never been that person." Becca's fingers played with the plastic cover on her cup. Her fingers itching to pull out a knife but she was very good holding off that action in front of Eve.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with hooking up or just one night stands. It lets you experiment and explore what you like and what you don't like. And it's an easy stress fix."

Becca giggled at how she said her words, knowing how true she was talking from experience. "I know there's nothing wrong with it. People can do whatever they please…"

Eve's eyes went wide, knowing she wanted to continue. "But?"

"But I like having a connection with someone. Forming out a relationship. Talking. Getting to know someone inside." She looked up finally to see the girl opposite of her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not a prude." She felt defensive.

"Oh honey, I know that!" She laughed, knocking her foot into Becca's thigh. "I very much remember that boy you were with freshman year into sophomore."

The brunette nodded, thinking back to her last boyfriend. "Cody."

"You just had to go for a musician. A girl can't help it."

"He played trumpet!"

"And I bet the boy knew how to use those lips."

Becca blushed at the thought. Cody had certainly been a great guy. They had connected the end of freshman year, laying low over the summer and then back to hot and heavy sophomore year. But she had broken up with him before Thanksgiving break even hit. She didn't know if it was the feel of her first 'adult' relationship or just a guy out of New York falling for her, but his charm weared off after awhile.

The one thing she wants in life was to fall in love. And sadly she couldn't feel that way for him.

"How'd it happen?" Eve asked, seeing the far away look in her eyes.

"We went out drinking with a couple of people we know. And one thing led to another and I woke up in his bed a half hour ago."

"Do you...do you remember everything?"

Becca gave her a confused look. "Yeah, why?" And that's when the realizing hit from where she was going with that. "No, he didn't take advantage of me if that's what you mean."

"I'm just trying to get all the details. I mean you were drunk, so I'm worried." Eve set her coffee down on the coffee table.

"No, no definitely not." Her brunette locks flew back and forth around her head. "If anything, I might have pushed myself more on him than anything." Once again, her head fell into her hand feeling the grease build up on her scalp. "Why! Why the hell did I do this?"

Eve cleared her head, finally waking up completely this morning. She leaned forward, holding onto her best friend's calves to give her some comfort in the moment. "You said you like to have a connection with someone right? Well the last I knew you two for sure had something."

"Yeah, but-"

"But what, Bec? Is this about Steve?"

Her head popped up at the question. "No, no! I mean-there's...there's nothing between Steve and I."

"Then why can't you open yourself to him? Why is this weighing you down?"

"Because I felt nothing!" The words poured out of her body easily. As easily as it was for the tears to well up in her eyes. "I was tired. I'm exhausted of lying to everyone about who I am, keeping myself as a Stark secret. And I just wanted to feel something. Comfort. Cause you're right. There was something there." Becca wiped her wet cheeks. "But all I felt was worse."

"Oh, honey." Eve situated herself closer to pull Becca's legs over her lap to be next to her. "He's just a boy. Just one boy."

She sniffed, setting her own coffee on the ground. "That's what's making it worse."

"Because you wanted him to be more than that?"

"I think so without even knowing it." Becca sighed, leaning back over the arm of the couch. "I just want to find someone that I can fall in love with."

"Don't fall in love." Eve shook her head, face for once fully serious. "Falling in love is for masochists. You're just setting yourself up to fail. Trust me." Her past a haunted ghost in her body.

"Eve-"

"Look, I'm just saying." She pulled herself out from under Becca and bent down to give her a kiss on the forehead. "You're too pure for that shit. You want some food?"

Becca knew Eve had had bad relationships in the past. But she was never one to fully open up about it. Not yet at least. "Starved. Could I use your shower first?"

"Of course. Borrow whatever clothes you want too." Eve stopped at the kitchen wall and turned back to her friend. "You okay?"

"I will be." Becca stood up, finally not feeling like she was going to be sick at any second. "Just need to regain my footing."

* * *

As if her morning could get any worse she was called in to SHIELD only an hour after she showed up at Eve's. Fury was abrupt on his call and his posture was stiff as she found her way to his office.

"We are dealing with a serious problem." He checked the hallway again before closing the office for them. "I have Secretary Thaddeus Ross currently in our boardroom wanting to meet with Captain Rogers."

Becca's eyes blew wide, shock clearly present across her face. "Can I ask why, sir?"

"You read the report about the Battle in Harlem back in 2010?"

"Yes, between Dr. Banner and Emil Blonsky. And Romanoff has retold the tales." She wrung her hands in front of her, not knowing if that was information that was supposed to be shared between the two cohorts. But it was hard to miss the shock that ran in Natasha's eyes after witnessing the destruction of the large neighborhood.

Director Fury nodded, her knowledge correct on the event. "Blonsky was Ross' problem. He's the one, that for all things considered, turned him into what we now know as Abomination...and made Dr. Banner into..."

"The big guy." She finished, understanding where this was coming from.

"Exactly." The man paced over towards his desk, a loud beeping coming from his screen. "You know what he was trying to do, Agent Bex?"

Her eyes followed him as he stopped the beeping and began typing out a response to whatever was on the other side of this conversation. But her director's words made her mind flash back to the conversation she had with Peggy Carter a few years back now. "The super soldier serum."

At the answer, Fury looked back up to her, stopping his work for the moment. "If he gets is hands on Captain Rogers...we don't know what he will do."

Becca swallowed harshly, knowing it won't go well if that happen. The Secretary would use him as a lab rat, doing whatever tests to recreate the serum. Making Steve Rogers a guinea pig. And that's something she would not let happen. "What do you need me to do, sir."

"Hill and I are on our way out to deal with another problem, because clearly they aren't becoming few and far between as of late." He finished typing by sending something off and shut down his interface. "I need you to take care of him."

"By what means?"

"Anything that needs to be done to get him out of here and stop him from coming around." He moved back around the desk, the black leather trench coat flapping behind him.

The brunette nodded, hands resting on her hips. "With all due respect sir, I may not have all do respect to give him."

"That's why I want you to take care of this, Agent Bex. We want to keep him away from Captain Rogers. Just be yourself." Fury nodded and opened the door for the two to file out. She bid her goodbye to Fury and Hill before heading off on her own adventure for the day, all the while trying to keep herself hidden from Garrett incase he decided to show up to the office today.

But what she didn't expect was a perfectly combed blonde soldier to cross her path on the way to the conference room.

"What are you doing here?" Becca's eyes must have held some sort of apprehension because Steve felt uneasy at the eye contact immediately.

"You said when I was ready to come to SHIELD." His hand gestured towards her, watching her head swing back and forth on her neck to look around the two of them in the nearly empty hallway.

"And you picked today of all days."

Steve's browline buckled. "I'm sorry?"

"Just go to my office, lock the door and do not open it unless it is me. And only me, understand?" At these words she was now a measly foot away to look him straight in the eye, her voice low that only the two of them could hear.

"Did-did you just give me an order?" His smile full on surprise and amusement as his eyes widened looking down at the girl in front of him.

She let her head fall back, the brunette waves falling down her back. "I'm too stressed to handle your snark. Please just go and I'll be there as soon as possible."

"Is everything okay, Becca?" The blonde's face grew serious now, looking over his own shoulder since she was now putting him on edge.

"It will be when I'm done." She looked back up at him, trying to let the soft smile play against her lips, hoping that it would settle the both of them down. "Just for the love of God, go."

He gave her a nod, but not before letting his eyes travel over her in trying to read the situation one last time. She squeezed his arm for reassurance before watching him take off back down the hallway to the elevator. She took a second to regain her attitude from a few moments before and proceeded to head to the door a few feet down.

Upon entering the boardroom, it was only the Secretary inside waiting for who knew how long. He stood at the wall windows, hands in his pockets simply looking out at the city skyline. As the door shut soundly behind her, the older gentlemen finally turned around to greet her.

"Mr. Secretary, my name is Agent Bex. I'll be helping you today." She shook his hand across the table, but she could tell he was almost surprised to see her.

"Didn't think I would be speaking with you today, Rebecca."

"Agent Bex. Please." She reminded him. She gestured to take a seat as she herself did across from him. "So what can I do for you today?"

"I thought I would be discussing things with Nick?" He took his seat, allowing his hands and arms to fold on the table, making it seem that he was much bigger than he was. Clearly trying to intimidate the young girl. Little did he know.

"Director Fury has an emergency to take care of at the moment. But not to worry I can assist you with whatever is needed today."

If you weren't looking close enough you would have missed the subtle smirk that was present under his moustache. But she saw it immediately. "So you've ranked all the way up to a Level 7 in the few short years you've been here. That's very impressive. Guess it helps to be a Stark."

Becca didn't make a sound, she just kept her eyes staring back into his own while clasping her own hands on the table. "What can I help you with today, Mr. Secretary?"

"We have learned that Captain America has been found and is alive."

"Yes, sir."

"I would like to speak to him."

"For what purpose?"

His head tilted to the side in surprise, clearly not expecting to have to go through hoops to get what he wanted. "Excuse me?"

"What do you need to speak with him? Perhaps I can answer the questions for you."

"Agent Bex, were you alive in 1945?"

"No."

"No. So you were not there when he crashed?"

"No."

"No, you weren't." His hands pressed onto the wooden table with force, very annoyed by her at the moment as she kept her cool. "So again I say. I need to speak with Captain America, because he has some questions that need to be answered."

And with the next words that left her mouth, she though his head might spin all the way around. "I'm sorry but, Captain Rogers is currently unavailable."

"Excuse me?"

"He is not owned by the government-"

"-he isn't controlled by SHIELD either."

"Exactly. Which is why I'm saying to you he is unavailable at the moment." She now placed a satisfied smirk on her face.

"A super soldier is out there right now, and conveniently you don't know where he is?"

"That is not what I said. Captain Rogers has served his time for the government, and has lost 66 years of his life. I'm pretty sure he deserves some time to adjust to his new life without a war being forced on him."

With that Ross fell back into his seat, his hand coming up to brush against his mustache. "You sure are a Stark."

"Thank you. Can I help you with anything else today?"

"What makes you think that just because I get a no from you, I wouldn't get a yes from someone else?"

"By all means, ask away. You can go ask Alexander Pierce back in Washington, but he will once again tell you to ask Director Fury, and we will once again be back in this same situation. You would get me every time. So again I ask, is there anything else I can help you with today?"

Anyone could tell he didn't want to give up but there was no way he would be winning in the current situation. Especially now that Becca knew that Steve was physically in the building. So, Secretary Ross shook his head and Becca walked him back out of the room.

"Do you wish for me to accompany you to the exit?"

"I can find it just fine, Agent Bex." His words echoing off the walls as he didn't even look at her as he took off down the hallway.

She stood there watching him with her arms crossed, before stopping one of the new agents in the hallways. "Please keep an eye on Secretary Ross as he leaves the building. If he doesn't go straight to the exit, get in a car and leave, you call me down immediately."

The young girl nodded her head, before turning on her heel back down the hall in the way she was told to go. It was barely noon on her watch and she was starved. Grabbing just a piece of toast of Eve after she got called in a few hours ago now. But she still had to handle Steve who was, finger's crossed, locked in her office.

All she wanted to do was grab Steve and the two to head to get lunch, then they would deal with his SHIELD involvement later. But she took her head off of everything for a second too long as another body blocked hers just a few steps from her office.

"What, no goodbye note?" Garrett asked, arms crossed as he stood in the middle of the hallway.

"I have work to do." She spoke softly. Becca was trying her hardest to get around him and not look up at him.

"Come on, Becca. What, you're not going to talk to me now either?"

"Excuse me." She managed to slip past him, but that didn't stop him from following her down the hallway.

"What that's it? Just a one night stand?"

She didn't say anything this time but could feel everyone's eyes on them.

"Becca!" Garrett's hand came around her elbow to spin her around. "Why won't you talk to me?"

"I'm busy right now." Becca tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her go.

"2 minutes."

"No."

"Becca-"

"-stop-"

"-please-"

"I don't want to talk to you right now!" She yelled finally looking up at him. Anger in her eyes. The words clenched in her teeth. "Let. Me. Go."

She couldn't tell if he finally did or she was able to rip her arm away. She turned around seeing the hallway silent as everyone was watching them, particularly Steve from the office doorway. The agent's head fell down to her chest as she rushed to her room, pushing past Steve. Her feet carried her to her desk, just staring down at the wood filled with papers.

Unbeknownst to her, Steve had given a dark look towards Garrett who was still standing in the hallway. The glare continued until the door was closed, locking the two in the office alone. When he turned back around all he found was her hunched over back. The only thing holding her up was her hands sturdy on her desk. He had never seen her like this before. Becca was always the one helping him out of this situation.

"Rebecca." He whispered taking easy steps towards her. He could hear her breathing coming out shakily, but almost to a steady beat. Like she knew she needed to calm down but couldn't fully get there. "Just take one deep breath."

"I swear I'm not usually this on edge." She tried to make a joke, always trying to make sure everyone else was okay before her. But that didn't mean her overall being was in the clear right now.

"I know, your the most stable person I know."

That at least got a chuckle out of her. Her fingers no longer trying to dig into the wood. "I'm the only person you know."

"It's true. You keep me on my feet most days." Steve's hand gently came to rest against her shoulder blades, feeling her body sort of deflate at the touch.

She was exhausted from barely any sleep the night before, the revolving door of emotions that had taken place today, and the constant guilt hanging over her head. The thought of staying in this building any longer was suffocating her.

"Can we get out of here?" She finally looked up at him, her eyes wet with emotions. "Please? I swear I'll talk to you about anything you came here for, I just...can't be in this building anymore."

All he could do was nod at the desperation she was showing him at the moment. The walls slowly being chipped away. He looked around and grabbed her bag and keys, pulling the strap over her shoulder to hold onto. Trying to take care of her the best he could, even if he had no idea what was going on. Steve's hand came up to rest again on her back to guide her out of the room and using her keys to lock her door, before the hand appeared again and the two booked it out of the building. Becca keeping her face emotionless to not give anyone any attention that would be unneeded.

Steve could feel the tension leave her shoulder blades as the two crossed the threshold into the outside world. The warm day laying over her that he decided that he could finally let his hand fall from her. He wasn't the best at comfort, never really had been up for it in the past, nor had the opportunity to do so for someone. So that was a big step for him, just the simple touch. He was truly beginning to deeply care for the girl, something he hadn't done in the past. This was a different kind of relationship that he never had.

She didn't ask him where they were going, simply just followed him through the streets. Allowing him to take over the role of leader for the day. And she was more than happy to release the reins.

* * *

"Do you have any twos?"

Becca rolled her eyes but handed over the 1 that she had. "You're just good at everything aren't you?"

"Not everything." Steve shrugged and played the card in his own hand.

"Well thanks for your modesty." Her foot kicked his leg under the table playfully where they say on the ground at the coffee table in his apartment.

After they left the office he took her to the diner that the duo had been frequenting more and more lately and then a walk around the park. He was learning quick that food and sunshine was an easy way to fix her mood. It wasn't long before that smile he was starting to become addicted to found its way back on her face.

"Can I grab a drink?" She asked, pulling herself off the floor before he even answered.

"Always." He nodded, watching her walk away with a swing to her body at the music she had put on early from her phone. "Can you grab me something as well?"

She had already grabbed two beers before he had time to ask. "Anything for you, Captain." She knew her phrase was heard loud and clear by the raised eyebrow she received when walking back towards him. "What?" She played off like she didn't know.

"You know. I thought we talked about this?" His head pulled up to look at her.

Becca shrugged, handing him his own bottle. "Thought I'd try it."

"And?" He popped his cap before taking hers to do the same.

"I'll stick to Steve." She took her seat back, taking sip from her drink. "It suits you."

"Glad you think so." He watched for a second taking another sip and picking her cards back up. "Can I ask you something?" Steve's fingers tracing the cards in his hands.

"Always." Becca smiled softly at him.

"Why do you never ask me questions?" He finally looked up at her face.

Becca's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You don't really ask questions about…my past." He scratched the top of his head, trying to put together his words.

She merely shrugged, putting her own cards down the table. "I've read your reports. I've read through the history of the missions you were on and all about the procedure you went through. But that was all Captain America." Her words softened his blues eyes with the way she was speaking to him. "When have you not been asked questions about yourself, whether that is present or in the past?"

"All the time."

"And were those questions usually regarding the persona of Captain America?"

Her question struck him. Not in an unsettling way, but made him think. It was true. Before the serum, his birth name held no esteem. "I guess you're right."

"I just wanted to find out who Steve Rogers was. To build a relationship. A friendship." She picked her cards back up and laid them out in her hand to try not to fall under the pressure that his bright eyes held whenever they fell her way. "At least, if that was something you wanted-"

"-It is." Steve cut her off with certainty, getting the dancer to jump a bit from his volume of his voice. "I mean, I do appreciate this friendship and everything you've done for me. And I just want to let you know, you can ask me anything."

"Good to know. Because I do have a question."

"Ask away." He motioned towards her.

"Do you have any 7′s?" Becca's game face back on after those revelations.

He laughed, looking over the cards still in his hand. "Go fish."

"Dammit, Rogers!" The two laughed, easiness falling back between them. "I can't believe I'm losing in 'Go Fish'."

The two only continued to play the game, getting away from that topic for the time being. Baby steps were better than anything. Maybe this could have been the time. After the hell day she had had before she found herself in his presence made her realize the relationship that had grown between them. Like she told Eve earlier, she was tired of lying. After the speech she just gave, he deserve to know she was a Stark. Just like eventually, when the time comes, to tell Eve what she really did for a living.

"Hey Steve, I do need to say something."

"Anything." He set his cards down to give her his full attention.

"I haven't been completely honest with you." She was trying her hardest to not get tongue tied in this very important moment. "I mean I have, I've just left out some details."

"Okay." Steve's voice was uneasy.

"It's just-" The sound of a text message rang through her phone, turning the music off for a split second. She looked at it quickly to see it was from Coulson, but that could wait for a second. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He saw her nerves coming to the forefront again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, everything is okay. Will be okay-" Now her phone proceeded to ring, something she can't ignore. "Hold on a sec." She pulled herself up off the floor and answered the phone. "Hey, Coulson."

"Bex." His voice was steady but soft from the other end. "I'm calling you in."

"Now?" She leaned against Steve's island, looking at the clock on the wall. "It's 9pm and aren't you out west?"

"We're on our way back as we speak."

"We're? What's going on?"

"Just get to the office, we'll talk when I get there."

This wasn't normal. Something wasn't right. "Coulson, just tell me what to prepare for. Something."

The line was dead silent on the other side for a few moments, making them feel even longer in Becca's mind. But as the tired sigh came through, she never would have guessed what he was about to say to her. The next words making her stomach fall out.

"Barton has been compromised."

* * *

This is the moment in the movie when you would hear The Avengers Theme start to play, and you want vomit!

Up Next: I think you know.

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR MY REBECCA!**


	13. Smile

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Smile - Mikky Ekko

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

Thanks to everyone who is on this journey with me! This is the longest story I've ever written and I'm excited to keep it going. Let's go!

* * *

****

**Smile**

_I'll smile, the worst is yet to come_  
We'll be lucky if we ever see the sun  
Got nowhere to go, we could be here for a while  
But the future is forgiven, so smile

_**May 2012** _

When you get hit with bad news people always think of two reactions: devastation and uncontrollable emotions or no reaction becoming withdrawal. And either of these reaction gets their own answer by someone critiquing said emotions. It was a never ending circle. If the bad news has something to do with a person then you think of the last conversation you had with them or lack thereof. Someone could stay this is the first step of grief, but what if this isn't any of that. Because this isn't the end, at least in this situation.

As soon as Becca received the phone call she wasn't sure how exactly to react. She always and would always remember the immediate desperation and depression that flowed through her body when she was told her father was missing. That was by far the hardest moment so far in her short life. She was just on the verge of 25 and she had seen the world at its worse, yet she continued to try to be positive each day at a time. But this right here was a type of emotions she didn't know exactly how to deal with.

In the four years that she had known Clint now, she had seen him in different lights. Obviously first as her handler but that had been the building block for teammate, father and husband, joker, competitor, companion, and friend. There were so many layers to a person, and Becca felt like she was only a mile deep. And in those years, she hadn't prepared herself for this moment. Sure, they had close calls time and time again but she knew this was much more than that.

After she hung up with Coulson she had gone into overdrive. She remembered Steve asking if she was okay, but she didn't remember how she replied or how she had gotten back to her office. Or how long she had been wearing a path in the floor as she spun her knife around her fingers. She couldn't do anything until she is briefed on what the situation is. So, this was all she could do. And this was how her commander found her.

"How worried should we be?" Becca's first words in hours.

Coulson didn't reply just yet. He closed the door behind him, keeping his face emotionless toward the situation. He stalked over towards her, folder in hand. "This is bigger than we've ever seen."

Her brow furrowed, taking the folder from him. On the inside was a picture of bright blue cube. "The Tesseract?"

"We believe it is the first step into unlimited sustainable energy." The older man leaned against Natasha's desk, arms crossed against his chest. "This is the item Hydra used in World War II to create enhanced weapons."

"This is what Steve and the Howling Commandos were fighting for?" She flipped the page to see the Hydra symbol next to an older photo of the cube clearly from the 40s when it was in use.

"Exactly. Your grandfather fished it out of the ocean when…"

Becca eyes looked up from the report at understanding what Coulson couldn't finish. "The Valkyrie. This powered the plane that Steve crashed?" All he could do was nod, watching her put all the pieces to the story together. "Christ." The young girl cursed dropping the folder on the desk, not being able to look at it any longer. How many more things were going to fall onto her shoulders today? "What does this have to do with Clint?"

"That," he pointed at the folder next to her, "is what he had been doing the past few months. He has been watching over it while we have been studying and doing research with NASA to see how we can use it to our advantage. But it was taken."

"By who?"

"His name is Loki. He is the brother of Thor from Asgard. We believe he wants to use it for the power, essentially what we have been trying to research." He was stalling to tell her exactly what she wanted. It was a lot to explain it to Natasha, but now again with Becca would be more concerning. Natasha was cut and dry. She severely angry with the situation, ready to put a bullet into whoever's head she needed to get Clint back. He knew Becca would be a completely different reaction. "Loki has a few SHIELD guards, our scientist Dr. Erik Selvig...and Clint under mind control."

The words made her blood turn to ice. When Coulson originally said compromised, it could have really meant any number of things. But mind control, that was a whole different animal to work with. "What do we know?"

"At the moment, not much." Coulson stood up, checking his phone for any new information but not finding any. "Fury is currently talking with the World Council to get things going."

"To get things going as the Avengers Initiative?" She raised an eyebrow in question.

"One way or another it's going to happen. I called Natasha, she's on her way to get Dr. Banner. After his talk, Fury is off to see Steve and I have the luxury of going to see your father." He folded his hands in front of his hips, knowing fully well that will be a fight.

"Good luck with that."

"You want to help me with him?"

Becca snorted, the idea of double teaming her father. "Absolutely not."

"Good, cause I'm going to need you here to round up artillery for Delta." He used the team name to officially gage her sense of reaction to what was happening around her. He knew she could handle the situation, but what was unknown was where exactly her head was. Especially knowing how important this team was to her.

"Will there still be team Delta?" Her hazel eyes looked up from under her eyelashes at him.

With a deep sigh, the agent stepped closer to gently squeeze her shoulder. "There will always be team Delta. You understand me?"

It took a very deep breath, but she nodded. "Absolutely."

Coulson would settle with that answer for now, giving her another squeeze before stepping back. "Meet me at the hanger to take the jet to Helicarrier at 7AM tomorrow morning. Not a second later."

"Yes, sir." Becca rubbed her hands on her jeans, letting the nervous sweat settle in. "Hey Coulson?" He stopped in the doorway at her call. "What about...umm...what his…" She couldn't say the real words. She couldn't say Clint's family and not feel grief for Laura and the kids.

His eyes softened, dropping his head with a nod knowing where she was going with that. "There is no need to worry them unless we absolutely need to." She nodded back, letting that end there. "Tomorrow. 7AM." He gave her one last look before leaving the office.

Once again, she was alone in these four walls. Her eyes traveling over to her left, the side of the room that was Clint's. To her right was Natasha's side. Two very different atmospheres on either side. Clint was a mess, but as he called it an 'organized mess' while Natasha's was clean and strategic. She was somewhere between the two. Everything that was out in the open was staked nice and neat while her drawers were a jumble of what she needed at any given time. Someone could probably start a therapy session about how this might explain her as a person as well but she didn't have time for that.

She needed to get their gear together. She needed to attempt to get a few hours of sleep. She needed to focus on whatever was about to come to them tomorrow.

She needed to become Lithe.

* * *

Becca stood tall on the tarmac. Her calf high, black boots complimenting her cuffed black shorts with a v-neck, navy shirt under a black bomber jacket. One hand held her coffee cup while the other was wrapped around her stomach. It was only 6:50 AM, or to her it was finally that time. After grabbing and double checking and triple checking the equipment, Becca attempted to get a few hours of sleep on the office couch. But all she really did was stare at the ceiling for most of the night when sleep didn't want to take over.

So here she was. First at the hanger, except for their two pilots, watching the sun come up over the water. She didn't turn around when a car pulled up and the sound of someone getting out interrupted her peaceful morning. She had thought it was Coulson finally getting here, so she was very surprised by the voice behind her.

"Lucky meeting you here."

Becca spun her head over her shoulder, locks flying about her head. It was the first smile in 12 hours at seeing her very own super soldier standing behind her. "You should play the lottery."

"Lottery?" Steve squinted down at her, moving to stand next to her.

"Gambling. Betting money." She quickly explained, taking a deep drink of her latte. "I take it you agreed to Fury's proposition."

He nodded, looking over the jet that sat in front of them. "Price tag is too big not."

"Wait! You're getting paid for this! Damn...I need to reevaluate my contract." Becca smirked at the side eye he was giving her over the attempt of the joke.

"You know that's not what I meant."

"I know, just diffusing the tension." Her fingers played with the cup lid as another thought crossed her mind. "Hey, I just wanted to apologize for last night-"

Steve shook his head, cutting her off. "You have nothing to apologize for. Fury explained. It's Clint." He watched her. Her small fingers tracing every outline that she could find on the plastic cup, trying to read where she was at with the mention of the name. "I know I don't know him personally, but he meant a lot to you. Which means he's worth saving."

Hey hazel eyes were soft as they found his in the early morning sunlight. "You put a lot of faith in my judgment, Rogers."

He shrugged, giving her a smile. "You haven't lead me wrong yet."

Those words making her think of how close she was to telling him the truth last night. It made her cement her feet into the ground. Getting on this plane, no doubt, would change everything between the two of them. Good or bad.

He, however, couldn't stop looking at that smile. He knew she was running on empty since yesterday morning when he had originally seen her. But she still put on that same smile he remembered seeing the first day he laid eyes on her. If the sun wasn't out right now he swore she could always light up the night with a simple grin.

"Good, you both are early."

That steady eye contact that the two could easily hold for hours was broken by Coulson walking up behind them. Becca could swear she saw the older man hesitate for a split second when Steve looked at him. He was officially meeting his idol for the first time. If Coulson didn't have sunglasses on she was sure he wouldn't be able to handle the eye contact.

"What, did you sleep in?" She finished her coffee, knowing there was a playful glare coming her way.

"Glad to see you're in a better mood."

Becca just gave him a tight lipped smile before looking up at the blonde man next to her. "Captain Steve Rogers, Agent Phil Coulson." She motioned to each man.

"Captain," Coulson stepped forward with his hand out, "it is an honor to meet you."

"Likewise." Steve nodded, shaking his hand. In all honesty, he's been living as just Steve Roger's now for a while thanks to Becca, so the mantle of being Captain America needed to start making its way back. Especially if they were about to gear up for a mission.

"Well, let's get going then." The older agent started his way up the ramp into the jet.

Becca grabbed the artillery bag at her feet, refusing Steve's offer to carry it, and the two followed the same path. Becca stashed her bag in the rack above the side seats while Steve took a second to look around. She watched him closely. His hands deep in his pockets, while she could see his teeth clenching in his jaw. Then it all clicked with her. This was the first plane he had been on, awake at least, since he crashed.

She casually took her spot beside him, looking over some equipment to play it off to the other three passengers. "You good?" Her voice was barely a whisper, but he heard her perfectly.

Steve glanced down at the girl, knowing she was doing her check in. "Definitely." He had a feeling it was about the plane, and quite honestly it was affecting him as much as he thought it was. When he got the word from Fury the night before at the gym he went through a process in his own head. But this is what he was good at. This is the only thing he knew, so he wasn't going to say now.

The one pilot announced their take off, so Becca and Steve buckled into the two seats on the left of the plan while Coulson took his spot at the control panel up front. Becca grabbed her own tablet from under the seat. "So, what'd you do for the rest of the night?"

Steve watched her fingers move over the tablet. "After you left, I went to the gym for a few hours."

"Break any more bags." She joked, but with the silence she got in return she knew it was anything but a joke. "Seriously?" She gave him an incredible look which she got a shy shrug in response. "In all honesty how many do you go through in a week? For real."

"3 or 4...maybe 5."

"You're reckless, Steve."

It was going to be a bit of a flight to get to the helicarrier, so Becca took it upon herself to fill Steve in a bit more on the crew that they were meeting up with. Explaining to him a bit more of Natasha's background, details about Thor and Loki that she knew, and showing him videos on Dr. Banner in his other form. She didn't know exactly if her father was showing up so she stayed clear of that subject.

"So, this Dr. Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?" Steve asked watching The Hulk destroy.

"A lot of people were." Coulson stood up from his spot, coming to stand next to the two. "You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula."

"Didn't really go his way, did it?"

"Not so much. That's also why Bex was trying to keep you away from General Ross."

Becca, who had been minding her own business, had her head jump up at the mention of the encounter.

"Who?" Steve looked back and forth between the two SHIELD agents.

"You didn't tell him?" Coulson looked over to his agent.

Becca shook her head. "No, I didn't tell him. It's literally been a day. How do you even know about it?"

"I know everything."

"Obviously." Her eyes narrowed at her handler before they softened to gaze back at Steve. He was looking at her with complete confusion. This was so not a good time for this conversation, but they were here now. And those blue eyes weren't letting up. "Yesterday, when I needed you to get to my office?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay, well that's because Ross was there. He was the one that reopened the program for the serum. We're worried he's going to try to use you for testing."

Steve nodded, but she could tell it was bothering him. That was not something he was going to let on to anyone else on this plane though.

"It's nothing we can't handle." Coulson attempted to wash out the awkwardness that was surrounding the plane. "Banner though, he's good. When he's not that thing, though, the guy's like a Stephen Hawking." The name getting an eyebrow raise from the soldier sitting in front of him, clearly not understanding. "He's like a...smart person."

"Think Nikola Tesla." Becca saved the situation, comparing Dr. Banner to a man that Steve would have known from his time period. This received and 'ahh' from Steve and a pleaded thank you look from Coulson. While Steve was trying to catch up from what he's missed in the past few decades, Becca had taken it upon herself to familiarize with the 30s and 40s. It was the least she could do for her friend.

Coulson hesitated for a split second, wondering if he should go back to his control panel or continue talking. This was his time to truly say what he has always wanted towards this American hero. "I gotta say, it's an honor to meet you officially." Becca knew this was his time to shine, so she gently took the device from Steve to allow Coulson his moment. The words brought a smile smile back to Steve. "I've sort of met you. I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping." And the awkward was back. "I mean, I was...present while you were unconscious...from the ice."

Steve took this moment to stand up and take a look out the cockpit. Becca however stayed in her seat wide eyes at Coulson, making a giant 'cut it out' motion with her hands. She understood this was a huge moment for her superior and she also knew Steve was a nice man who wouldn't call out the weirdness of the situation. The young woman was just trying to make it semi easier for the fanboy.

The agent nodded, clearing his throat to try again. "You know, it's really just a-just a huge honor to have you on board this…"

Becca dropped her head in her hands, feeling so bad for him. She had never heard Phil Coulson stutter before. Ever.

"I hope I'm the man for the job." Steve confessed.

"Oh, you are. Absolutely. We made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input."

Steve finally looked back to him, bewilderment plastered across his face "The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little," he hesitated looking back at Becca for a second, "old-fashioned?"

"With everything that's happening and the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old-fashioned." This was the Coulson that everyone else saw.

"Sir, we're coming up to landing." The pilot announced, breaking the conversation. Coulson nodded, taking his place back at the control panel while Steve took his seat next to Becca again.

The soldier began to realize how real this situation was again. Once they step off this plane he was back in the world. No more hiding out. "I guess we have to play our counterparts now."

Becca's side smile was placed over her lips, gearing herself into the situation. "Guess we should have role played before going on a mission together."

He chuckled, feeling some of the weight fall from his chest at her light air that she carried around. He knew she was beyond worried about Clint, her fingers hadn't stopped twitching since he had met up with her an hour ago, but she still could play easiness well. "You are something else."

"Thank you." She knocked his shoulder into hers. "Just good ole' Captain America and Lithe at your service."

"Lithe?"

"My codename."

He thought about it for a second, but otherwise agreed with it. "Makes sense."

The jet made a landing on the helicarrier. Becca could make out agents doing drills and working on other jets along the landing from the cockpit window. She was officially back to work. The pilots landed the plane and proceeded to lower the ramp for the passengers to get off. She gave Steve one last supportive smile before the two stood up, following Coulson off the platform.

"Stow the Captain's & Lithe's gear." Coulson order the two men that were assigned to their jet from the helicarrier.

"Yes, sir." They both nodded, walking up the ramp.

Stepping out into the bright morning light, Becca took a second to breathe in the ocean air that they were surrounded by and catch her bearings. Making a 180 degree, what she saw first was the fiery red hair, that had been cut several inches shorter since the last time they had seen each other, along with the swagger that only Natasha could pull off.

"Look what the cat drug in." The assassin smirked, looking only at Becca.

The brunette smile back, crossing her arms across her chest. "I'm not a cat person. Usually prefer dogs." And if that 'hello' to each other didn't explain their entire relationship to someone, then they never would.

"Please excuse their nonsense. You get used to it after a while." Coulson explained to Steve. He had his sunglasses on but the two women were sure he was rolling his eyes at his agents. "Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers."

"Ma'am." Steve nodded at the women who he had heard unless stories about from Becca, now he could put the stories to a face.

"Hi." Natasha gave him a quick once over, before glancing back to Coulson. "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face-trace."

"See you there." Agent Coulson nodded at the three before heading in the direction to take him inside.

"It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice." Natasha guided the two, walking next to Steve while Becca took his other side. "I thought Coulson was gonna swoon."

"Correction, he did swoon." Becca chuckled. "Thought he might have a coronary."

"Did he pull out his Captain America trading cards yet?"

"Trading cards?" Steve looked back and forth between the two women on either side of him.

"They're vintage. He's very proud."

That's when Becca, along with Steve, noticed why Natasha had them walking this way. In front of them stood Bruce Banner, checking out of of the jets. His movements were all around nervous and anxiety ridden. But other than that, in person, Bruce was not at all what Becca was expecting.

"Dr. Banner." Steve walked forward, going in to shake the man's hand.

"Oh, yeah. Hi." Bruce shook the outstretched hand, looking over the living legend in front of him. "They told me you would be coming."

Becca took this as her time. "Dr. Banner, I'm Agent Bex. I work directly with Agent Romanoff."

He shook her hand as well, giving her her own quick look, that she was sure was something he had always done since he became the other guy. "You as...convincing as her as well?"

She grinned, knowing he wanted to use another word to describe Natasha. And she understood. "If I have to be."

"Word is you can find the Cube." Steve got on topic.

Bruce looked back and forth, clearly ready for a threat to break out. "Is that the only word on me?"

A worry that Steve could sense as well. "Only word I care about."

Becca stood back a step, letting the interaction between the two men play a role in how she saw them. It was something that was easier for her to pick up on when watching people. Especially people she would need to be working with.

"It must be strange for you...all this." Bruce gestured to their surroundings.

"Well," Steve shrugged, hands going into his pockets, "this is actually kind of familiar."

Becca felt Natasha come up next to her, listening to her ear com. "Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute. It's going to get a little hard to breath." Becca took Natasha's words and watched as the words finished strapping everything down, getting ready to take off.

"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked.

"Really?" Bruce chuckled darkly. "They want me in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?" They both walked forward to see what was happening.

Natasha smirked at the interaction between the men in front of them, weaving her arm through Becca's. "How's it going?"

The brunette couldn't help the chuckle, squeezing her friend's arm. "You mean, how's it going because we haven't seen each other in 3 months? Or how it's going because Clint's missing? Or how's it going with my current history lesson?"

"How does it feel to play house with a super soldier?"

"I wouldn't call it house but it's good...despite lying to him about my identity."

Natasha paused their following of the two men, giving her a bemused look. "You've been what?" All Becca did was give her a knowing look. "Oh my God! He doesn't know you're a-"

"Hey, how was Russia? Meet up with any family members?" Becca cut her off with narrowed eyes.

The redhead opened her mouth to compete but nothing came out. "Touché. But, how's that going to work when your father decides to make his grand appearance?"

She shrugged. "We'll get there when we get there, I guess." Becca looked back over to Steve and Bruce who looked so opposite of each other, but in a way very similar. "How'd it go getting him onboard?"

"It was," Natasha looked over at Bruce her head bending back and forth, "intense."

"Clint would be beating both of over the head right now." Becca crossed her arms, slightly knocking into to her companion.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to get him back to do that."

* * *

Up Next: Fighting against Clint and Loki, and Tony shows up to 'save' the day.

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR MY REBECCA!**


	14. Monsters

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Monsters - Taylor Phelan

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

Not going to lie, I just started writing The Avengers movie and I'm already ready to move on lol! I feel like I've been watching/writing this for so long already. But good things are just around the corner starting now!

* * *

**Monsters**

_If you're up tonight I'll search through the darkness to find you_

_I've arranged for the moon to guide you from here on out._

_The stars will act as your nigh defense._

_The sun comes in when the evening ends._

_And while I journey through the closet where the monsters live,_

_I swear that I'll be back again._

Stepping through the door of the helicarrier gave Becca a different feel from the last time she was there. Those few months ago when herself and Natasha were fighting against Clint without knowledge of it. The difference now was first off it was actually filled with workers this time and second they were fighting against Clint but this time he didn't know it.

Glancing over her shoulder, Becca found Steve and Bruce still following Natasha and herself, but their eyes were drawn to one element after another. There was always a lot to take in when SHIELD was involved. The quad followed the path through the interlocking doors towards the Bridge where the control room of the aircraft with stationed. They each split off on their own in the rather large room. Becca took the opportunity to go to the audio controllers, and grabbed her own in-ear to understand everything that was going on.

"All systems operating." Agent Maria Hill announced from her control station. "SHIELD Emergency Protocol 193.6 in effect. We are at level, sir."

Director Fury nodded, standing on his platform at the center of the bridge. Able to keep an eye on everything around him. "Good. Let's vanish."

"Engage retro-reflection panels." Hill commanded the needed agents. At that the Helicarrier became camouflage in the sky. No one being able to locate them.

Nick Fury finally turned around to greet the newest edition. "Gentlemen." He nodded to Steve and Bruce.

Steve, who had been looking around in awe since he stepped foot on the carrier, pulled out of ten dollar bill from his pocket and handed it to the Director. Clearly something between the two of them that no one else understood. He noticed Becca's raised eyebrow at the interaction and just shook his head for her.

"Doctor, thank you for coming." Fury walked over to truly try to make Bruce welcome here, with a handshake and all.

The Doctor hesitated but shook his hand anyways. "Thanks for asking nicely." The man clearly had no desire to be here but he was doing it anyways. "So, um...how long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind."

"Where are you with that?"

Fury pointed to Coulson, letting him explain. "We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops." Coulson crossed his arms, head turning to all the Agents sitting in front of them who was currently working on it. "If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"That's still not gonna find them in time." Natasha checked the progress on the computer she was nearest to.

"This is also Clint we're talking about." Becca's fingers twisted in front of her. "The number one person who can fall off the grid like that." She snapped her fingers.

"You have to narrow your field." Bruce interjected, before turning back to Fury. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

Fury shrugged. "How many are there?"

"Call every lab you know. Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places." He pulled his blazer off and rolled up his sleeves, clearly finally getting into the problem at hand. "Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Romanoff, could you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?"

Natasha nodded, starting the path towards the lab with him following. "You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys."

* * *

"I mean, if it's not too much trouble."

"No. No, it's fine."

Becca snorted from the computer station she had set herself up at. She couldn't just wait around anymore, so she had decided to start getting to work herself. But the conversation that she had been overhearing between Coulson and Steve was too awkward not to listen in on.

"It's a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all." Coulson gushed while Steve just stood there, arms crossed letting the man continue. "Near mint. Slight foxing around the edges, but-"

"We got a hit!" Agent Jasper Sitwell announced, alerts sounding off on the computers. "A 67% match. Wait. Cross match, 79%." Loki's picture the only one coming up on the screen as an alert.

The brunette spy's head popped up from her computer so fast she was surprised she didn't get dizzy at the news.

"Location?" Coulson stalked over to check out the match.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Königstrasse. He's not exactly hiding."

Becca immediately closed her interface and started searching the address. "There is a gala happening at the museum tonight."

"What's it for?" Fury asked her, coming to stand behind his agent to watch her work.

"Umm, a Doctor Heinrich Schäfer." She searched the name to learn more about the man. "He's a nuclear scientist and the guest speaker this evening."

"So they want to use him for the Tesseract."

Becca looked up at her Director with wide eyes. "Not necessarily."

Fury studied her for a second with confusion. "Meaning?"

"Meaning, Loki's the only one coming to light. Schafer works at the Nuclear Science and Technology. At his own institute, which just so happens to be just around the corner. They're using this as a distraction."

"How sure are you?"

"I'm going to take a wild guess Clint will be at that institute getting something they need for the Tesseract. No one will notice because Loki will be taking the attention." She chanced a glance around her to see if anyone had any other theories, but there was nothing. "I'd rather be safe and be wrong, then let it go and be right."

"Fine." Directory Fury agreed with her, willing to try anything at this point. "Captain, Bex. You're both up."

Becca nodded, taking one last glance at the screen before walking up the stairs to meet Steve on the higher floor. She gestured her head to the left, gearing Steve to follow her down the hallway. Her nerves were more of a jumbled mess then she was expecting. This was different than any mission she had been sent out on before. This time she was tracking a confidant.

Steve stayed a step behind her, his own head going through a maze of emotions. He knew agreeing to this was the first step of getting back into his life, but actually putting on the uniform, that was going to truly put everything into perspective. It was time to toughen up and get back into the headspace that would get him back through a war.

"This is you." Becca's voice was low, stopping outside of one of the artillery rooms. Just a glance inside and she could see the red, white, and blue standing bright in the background against the usual grey and black decor.

Steve only nodded, hands stuffed in his front pockets again. His jaw clenched, eyes focused on the closed door to the left where she stopped in front of. His eyes were subdued, something she had taken notice to over the few hours now that they had been on the Helicarrier. She was beyond aware of how big this step was for him, just more than any step they had walked up before.

"Okay," she rubbed her hands on her shorts, sweaty with nervous, "I'll see you out on the deck." Not knowing what else to do, or say, she turned around and started back down the hallway.

"Becca." The man called out softly, grabbing her attention before she could get to far away. She turned automatically on her toes to come back to him. "I...I just wanted…" He stuttered out his words, gaining an encouraging smile from her to go on. Damn, that smile was truly starting to ruin him. "I wanted to say something, some type of encouragement or something, but I am blanking on what to say at this moment."

She chuckled with him, shaking her head. "You still have such a way with words even after a few months of knowing each other." Becca looked up at him, their usually height difference not affecting her as much as usual. It was actually kind of comforting. "But I get it. You don't have to say more."

He nodded again, his eyes tracing over her delicate face. "It's just, once I walk in there," he pointed at the door, "I'm no longer just Steve Rogers anymore. And you, you have been nothing but helpful and receptive and patient with everything that I have rested on you." His throat catching, not one that usually opens up like this, but there just was something about Rebecca. "I just hope that doesn't change with you after this."

"It won't." She shook her head, eyes almost pleading with his own to know that she wouldn't budge that trust they had formed. And him standing there, confessing his feeling in the best of his ability, chipping down that wall, just made her overall lie feel like a pillar standing on top of her. "I need you to do the same for me."

His eyes narrowed, the usual dip in his forehead there to show his deep thought. "Of course, Becca. What does-"

"Just promise me. Promise me you won't hate me later on."

"Is this about last night? Whatever it was you wanted to talk about?"

Becca's head dropped to stare at the floor. His brown boots clean compared to her scuffed black ones. A contract difference but had similarities. So much that was their relationship. "I will tell you everything later. I just need you to not hate me when you find out."

As she finally looked back up at him, he didn't understand what it was that could be so bad. So bad that she thought he could push her away that easily. But it was very clearly affecting her, so all he could do was nod to let her calm those nerves. "I promise."

The brunette dipped her head in a thank you before turning back around and walking away. This time not stopping, because she knew if she did the words that have been sitting on the front of her tongue would come falling out. But there was no time for that, they had a major problem to deal with.

She took a few more turns down the hallways before finding her own locker room of sorts. Surprise evident on her face at finding her companion on the other side. "You coming with?"

Natasha turned over her shoulder at the words, pausing only slightly as she finished zipping up her suit. "Playing backup on the jet. You know, incase your ass gets kicked."

"Hilarious." Becca found her gear, stowed away in the right side corner with 'Bex' labeled across the top. "How's Banner doing? Settling in finally?"

"The most you can, after being bombarded to help SHIELD. The usual."

"The usual." The younger of the two women murmured back, starting to replace her street clothes with her suit.

The russian pulled her shorter hair out of the suit collar, turning to finally get a good look at her friend after several months. She had noticed the edge that she had been tipping since stepping foot on the carrier. She just didn't know if it had been there for awhile or had just happen since the revelation of their third teammate missing. "You going to be able to handle this?"

Becca didn't look up at her where she sat on the bench, tying up her boots. "Absolutely."

"Really? Is that why your fingers have ceased to rest since I've seen you?"

The comment had her stop tying and watch the way her fingers would just move on their own. Clearly this was where she was holding her anxiety. "And here I thought I was holding it together quite well."

"You are." Natasha started putting her artillery in place around her body. "To everyone but me."

"When was the last time you spoke to him?" Becca finished tying her other boot before looking up at the redhead. "I hadn't spoke to him in almost a month."

The assassin contemplated for a second. "A few days ago actually. It was a quick check in. He sounded bored out of his mind." A small laugh coming from both of them, knowing how restless Clint was. "But he was Clint. He was more worried about how I was doing than no matter what question I asked about him."

Clint was one of the most selfless people they had ever met. His life was always the last one he truly cared about. Always trying to make sure everyone else was safe and taken care of. She wondered if that same code of conduct was something he always had or had just started when he became a father. Because he would go through hell for those kids, and all Becca could wish was for him to walk away at the end of this and go back to his family.

"You want to tell me what's going on between you and the Captain?" Natasha changed the subject, needing to get out of that headspace as soon as possible.

"We're friends?" Becca shrugged, putting her own knives, guns, and other equipment in place.

"Yeah, friend who doesn't even know your last name. How did you even go about that?"

"It was easier to gain his trust by just being Steve and Rebecca."

"Is that why he was following you around and hanging on your every word?"

She rolled her eyes, just giving her on overly bright smile full of sarcasm. "It's so good to have you back, Tasha."

The two girls finished getting suited up before heading out onto the deck, finding Coulson out there waiting for them for final instructions. He explained to Becca how she would be searching for Clint while Steve would go after Loki, with Natasha using the blasters on the jet. His voice all of the sudden stopped though, jaw dropping, and eyes wide looking past them. This gained the two girl's attention and looked back to find what his infatuation had turned to.

Becca understood immediately. The sight before her was all of those things and now she understood why Steve had said those words to her a bit ago. Quite honestly, the time she had known Steve now it never fully processed in her that she would one day see him as Captain America. But now, completely decked out in the red, white, and blue suit she was really seeing the famous hero in the flesh. It was a sight to behold, especially with the shield attached to his arm.

"Captain." Coulson was the first to speak up as he finally was standing next to the trio. "Ready."

Steve only nodded, feeling everyone's eyes in the vicinity on him. The persona that was, for him at least, only a couple months ago coursing through his body again. The mantel that was held high on his shoulders.

Coulson finished the few last things before sending the three onto the jet, along with Pilot Clarkson who would flying them. Natasha took her spot as second next to him while Becca and Steve took their spots in the back, much like how they had a few hours ago to get there. The jet took off and the passengers were silent while they were leveling out in the sky.

"You said you weren't going to act different."

Becca's eyes found Steve's after taking a bit to understand his words. She had been staring down at his shield, entranced by how shiny the item actually was. "I'm not."

"You've been staring since I walked out." His voice was low so only they could hear the conversation.

"You're one to talk, so have you." She countered back. She had felt his eyes on her as well as she was making sure everything they needed was there before take off. At this point though she had become use to his eyes following her around. She took it as him just wanting to be sure of where she was going as a precaution. In an odd way it made her feel safe and more important to him than she would know.

Her words brought a small blush that fell against his neck, raising past his uniform but stopping under the cowl. "My apologies."

"Nothing to apologize for." She gave him that chest squeezing smile, wanting to imprint it in his soul.

It wasn't long before Clarkson announced their arrival, letting Becca know he was going to drop her to the roof next to the institute. Becca worked on adjusting the rope attached to the back of the jet while clipping the end of it onto her belt. As the plane soundlessly hovered over the building, Becca pushed the button allowing the back gate to lower.

"Be careful." Steve stood behind her, there to pull the rope back up when she had landed.

"Always, Captain." She gave him a wink before allowing her weight to drop her off the back. It was only a few seconds before Becca had landed on the roof. She unhooked the rope before giving him a thumbs up that she was sure he could see from the sky. She watched as they flew away, leaving her to get to it.

Glancing to her right she found the institute's building begin and wrap around. She ran across the cement, taking a look over the side as she went. That's when something caught her eye, stopping dead in her tracks. Two guards, armed with sniper guns layed on the ground. Most noticeably with an arrow sticking out of both of their chests. A sort of hope flashed through her chest knowing she was right. Clint was here. Now she had to figure out if he still was or not.

Taking a look around she saw workers still walking about back and forth inside, oblivious of what was going on around them. Trying to understand the path Clint took, Becca noticed a side door a bit down and figured that was his entrance and exit. Seeing no other option, Becca pulled her zipline off her belt and suctioned it to the side of the building before rope walking down. Once her feet were on solid ground she clicked the button on the line and the suction traveled back down and reattached to her belt.

The spy ran over to the door, noticing there was no handle only a retinal scanner on the left side. There was no way for her to open the door without the eye print of someone who worked there. As she contemplated her next action the sound of voices and movement broke the quiet from the other side of the door. Becca quickly rushed to her left, finding an alcove that she could hide in to see who was coming out.

Peaking out she saw Clint along with two other men with him. Most noticeably was the 3 foot long cylinder in Barton's arms. She let her back rest against the wall, waiting for them to take a step past her so she could attack. Once the last man walked by she immediately attacked. Bex grabbed him by the elbow turning him around. The surprise was enough for her to uppercut him in the throat, a sharp elbow to the ribs, and a knee to the groin which gave her momentum to flip him over her knee to fall flat on his back.

It took until the man landing to finally grab the full attention of the other two. She pulled out her gun while the other man did as well.

"What do you got there, Clint?" Her eyes flashed back and forth between all the men, seeing who was going to attack first.

"You know her?" The man holding the gun asked the archer next to him.

Clint merely stared her down with such bright blue eyes that she had ever seen. They weren't the normal blue, they were almost supernatural looking. But it was the same color as the other men as well she noticed. Clearly part of the mind control. He still didn't say anything, just pushed the cylinder into the man's arm.

"Get out of here. I'll take care of her." He grumbled out. His voice even seemed deeper.

She continued to aim the gun as the man on the ground got up and started running down the alley away from them. Bex took that moment to shoot out the guy holding the part's knee. After the shot, Clint had enough time to jump forward and knock the gun out of her hand. She took his forward advance as a chance to punch his jaw where he just grabbed her arm right after.

The mentor and mentee grappled back and forth for a few seconds before both breaking it after going nowhere, clearly each knowing the other's moves. "Clint, you got to wake the hell up. Loki is using you."

Her words were found on deaf ears as he advanced on her again taking a swipe across her abdomen where he found contact, but she retaliated with a knee to the chin. She moved forward to kick out his head, but he was quicker and grabbed her legs, picking her up in a circle to throw her body down on the concrete, officially halting her for the moment.

Clint didn't even look at her again before heading down the alley to leave her there. She gained enough strength to pick back up the gun from earlier and pulling her own body off the hard ground.

"Didn't think Hawkeye was one to back away from a fight!" Her words gaining hesitation in his body to stop and turn around. With that turn he finally pulled the bow from his back. "Clint, don't make me do this! Please!" Becca yelled, the gun pointed at his chest.

He didn't say anything. He had yet to address her, just stared her down with those menacing neon blue eyes. All he did was pull an arrow from his quiver, his moves slow and precise. Clint carefully placed the arrow on the bow.

It was the slowest Becca had ever seen him move and it was making her more and more uneasy. She was trying, she really was, to keep herself under control but this is much more personal than she was expecting.

"Put it down, Clint. Just snap out of it. It's me!" She finally pulled the safety back. Her eyes filled with tears as she watched the one person that has always had her back in everything she's done point an arrow at her head. "PUT IT DOWN, CLINT!"

The next thing she knew was that he shot the arrow and she pulled the trigger.

Becca's scream ripped through the air, no doubt alerting anyone who was in a mile radius. The used gun shaking in her hand as she looked down at where the pain was coursing from her body, seeing the arrow lodged in her thigh. She looked up, breathing to the point of panic, to see Clint pulling himself off the ground holding his chest. He unwedged the bullet from the bulletproof vest he had underneath, looking at her still with zero emotion. The archer simply threw the bullet on the ground and ran off to the van that held his two helpers, knowing full well she couldn't follow in this position.

As she watched them drive away, the gun fell to the ground. Her hands had begun shaking to a point where she could barely keep a grip. Unbelievable of herself that she had let him get away, but she also knew he was wearing that vest. There was no way she could have actually shot him where it was lethal, and clearly so did he.

That arrow was pointed at her head a second before he let it go. Something changed inside of him right before to change his target.

Carefully, her fingers slowly grazed around the injury and she immediately regretted it. Just the whisper of a touch had her gritting her teeth in pain. Blood painting her fingertips. She didn't know what was worse; that she was injured, that it was Clint, or now she had to call back to get help out of here.

"This is Bex. I need extraction." Becca finally said through her in-ear, trying her best to keep her voice steady as she attempted to put weight on her leg but was only making it worse.

"Bex! Where are you?" Natasha's voice rang through her ear.

"I-I'm in the alleyway...next to where you dropped me." The brunette looked up and down the alley, nobody coming or going.

"Okay, can you get back onto the roof so we can grab you?"

"No...I can't walk."

The other side was silent for a few seconds and it was truly making it weigh even further on her brain that she had failed. Natasha's rasp finally came through. "On our way."

Becca turned her in-ear to off so no one could hear her through the line. As carefully as possible she let herself fall on the ground, hands coming out behind her to hold her weight, keeping her injured leg out straight. Every move screaming through her body. And that's just what she did, she screamed for the sake of letting her emotions getting the better of her.

The tears that had been sitting in her eyes finally started to fall. Through cloudy eyes and shaky hands, Becca pulled out the sharpest knife she owned. It was told to her back when she just began training with Clint that if for any reason she ever was hit by an arrow to not pull the head out. It would only make the injury worse. So instead, as carefully as she possibly could, Becca began cutting off the end to not have it stick out as much. Maybe, just maybe, helping the overall pain from gravity alone.

The sound of a blaster roaring through the sky, that she knew so well, fell into the silence around her. The young Stark was half surprised, half not, when her father came barreling towards her. She didn't look up when Tony landed in his Iron Man suit, just kept her work on the arrow.

"What happen?" His voice rough with concern as soon as the face guard popped open to show him inside.

"Clint shot me." She sniffed away the rest of her tears, not wanting him or anyone to see her broken down. Her teeth gritted hard as she finally cut through the final piece.

"Christ, Bec." Tony bent down on one knee to get a better look at his daughter's injury.

"I'm fine." Her eyes were hard as Becca finally looked at him. She was determined to hold herself together, so much like her father always did. One thing that they shared.

He didn't answer back simply looked over her, finding the red eyes and drawn look over her. Easily telling she was in immense pain, for more ways than one. "Let me get you back to the jet. We've got Loki and need to get him to the Helicarrier."

She only nodded, grabbing her gun and putting it back in the holster. As carefully as possibly he picked her up in his arms and flew them towards the target. The pad was down while the jet hovered in mid air like earlier. Tony landed, walking straight over to gently set his daughter on the seats. Becca had kept her eye close since he picked her up, the pain just exploding through her body. It wasn't until she was firmly in the plane did she open them to look around.

Steve was directly in her eyesight, crouching down immediately to assess what had happen. Her father stood a few steps behind, still keeping safe watch while Natasha kept glancing over her shoulder from her pilot seat. Uneasiness drawn across her face.

But the most unsettling part was the man in the back corner, just resting there staring. This was Loki himself. His entire presences made her nerves stand on end, despite the pain. His eyes were sharp, face pale, and hair black as night. He was the essences of slime but also conniving. This is not was she was expecting of the god. Loki was tightly bound, but she honestly didn't know if that would hold him with what she's heard.

"Bex, what happen?" Steve gently helped her pull her leg out straight so she wasn't putting strain on the muscle.

"Clint was there." She sucked in a tight breath of pain before easing it out. "Him and two others grabbed something from the institute."

"What was it?"

"I don't know. The two ran away but I was able to shoot one before fighting with Clint. Before I knew it he was driving an arrow into my leg."

Steve had taken off his helmet before her arrival and it gave his hands access to run through his hair. He always swept through the front of it she had noticed when he was in a situation he couldn't immediately fix. "I'm okay."

"You are not okay." He sighed, knowing she was going to put up a fight.

"This is the least okay you can get at this moment." Tony finally spoke up behind him.

Her eyes narrowed back and forth between them. "Both of you. I'm fine really."

"You have an arrow sticking out of your leg, I think I'm allowed to worry about my kid." The oldest Stark pulled off his own helmet, gearing in for the flight that would last a bit longer.

With everything that was happening, Becca seemed to have forgotten the fear that she had been playing off of for months now.

"...kid?" Steve asked, eyes glancing back and forth between the two, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah, kid." Tony almost laughed, finding it more than comical but he didn't know the half of it. "What? You didn't put two and two together with her last name being Stark?" He walked over to the cockpit to look out the windshield, leaving the two there.

Neither spoke only stared. This time was so different than any time they had looked at each other before. The usual brow crease was against Steve's forehead, looking at her as if he's never met her before in his life. Her hazel eyes held sorrow. A sorrow she didn't even know how to fix at this given moment.

"Steve." Her words so silent Becca couldn't even tell if he actually heard her.

But he had. His head dropped, followed by a shake of his head. And that was the last time he looked at her. Steve just stood back up and walked away too look out the front himself. All Becca could do was stare at the ground where he just was, feeling smaller than she ever felt before. She never meant to betray his trust. Never. All she wanted was to be the best she could be for him.

The injured girl didn't know how long she was sitting there in her own self-pity before she heard that voice again. She wished it was directed to her but funny enough it was towards her father.

"I don't like it." Steve whispered.

Tony didn't look at him, just continued to stare down Loki. "What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"

"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop." Taking his own look back at Loki.

"Still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow." The man clad in the iron suit finally spoke directly to the other man. "What's your thing? Pilates?"

"What?"

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple of things doing time as a Capsicle."

Becca had been watching the interaction on limited breath. The tension had mounted so close to the top she was surprised everyone was still standing. But as she watched her father start to play games with Steve, she could feel the anger rising inside of him.

Steve just stared him down, not surprised in the slightest by his actions. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you." Tony's own stare boarding in.

Out of nowhere, thunder and lightning began surrounding them from everywhere around the plane. "Where is this coming from?" Natasha saying what everyone was thinking. The lighting so close now that it was rocking them back and forth.

Becca bit her tongue as the movements shook her leg, but what she really took notice of was Loki who had changed his character when the storm started. The once confidence had now turned into apprehension.

"I didn't think you of all people would be scared of lightning." Her words were jaggard as she spoke to him. Overall annoyed because he was specifically the reason there was an arrow lodged in her leg and blood slow soaking through her pants.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Loki's eyes glancing each way, almost expecting something else.

In that moment, something had landed directly on top of them, making the entire jet shake but kept moving. Tony and Steve both grabbed their helmets to prepare for what was about to come.

"What are you doing?" Steve questioned, watching Tony open the back gate again.

As the landing dropped another person fell from above upon. All Becca could make out was a red cape, long blonde hair, and giant hammer. As Tony moved forward to blast him, the man used the hammer to knock Tony back, taking Steve with him.

That's when it all snapped in place with who he was. "Thor!" Becca's voice brought her own thunder through the aircraft, grabbing the god's attention for a moment. His eyes watched her with curiosity for a split second before grabbing Loki by the neck and flying the two of them out of the plane.

"And now there's that guy." Tony finally pulled himself off the ground.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha yelled from the front where her and Clarkson were trying to keep the airline under control.

"That guy's a friendly?" Steve countered back.

"Yes!" Becca yelled, hating that she physically couldn't do anything to help.

"Doesn't matter." Tony argued, stalking to the end of the landing. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost."

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" The Captain tried to get some type of knowledge of what was going on.

"I have a plan. Attack." And with that, Iron Man flew out the back going after the two gods.

Steve shook his head for a quick second before grabbing the parachute next to Becca.

"Steve, hold on." Becca pleaded with him, but he just ignored her.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap." Natasha called from the front, taking notice to what he was doing.

"I don't see how I can."

"These guys come from legend. They're basically gods."

"There's only one God, ma'am." Steve finished strapping himself in. "And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." He grabbed his shield, stalking to the end of the ramp.

"Be careful!" Becca called out one last time, trying to get something from him. The same words he threw at her earlier. He stopped for a quick second, she almost thought he was going to turn to her, but he jumped off the back into the dark night. There had to be something so poetic about rather than talking to a person you would jump head first out of a plane to get away from them.

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I swear I come in peace!

Up Next: Father/Daughter time, she tries to reconcile with Steve, and the fight has just begun.

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR MY REBECCA!**


	15. Believe

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Believe - Mumford & Sons

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

I've decided that this book will have a total of 20 chapters! So we're getting close to the end everybody, but we still have major things to happen!

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**Believe**

_I don't even know if I believe_  
Everything you're trying to say to me  
So open up my eyes  
Tell me I'm alive  
This is never gonna go our way  
If I'm gonna have to guess what's on your mind

Becca stared at the infirmary ceiling, tired hazel eyes following each track that ran across. She would run them across each horizontal trail before switching to diagonal. She found it therapeutic in a sense. She counted them out, like a dance routine, before moving on to the next. The small square that each line made up would come next, this time going on angles. It took away the chaos that was happening around her and to her. The amount of painkillers was strong enough for her to feel numb. The first time in 48 hours where she couldn't feel the anxiety and dread sitting on her chest.

In a not so subtle way, Tony and Steve had been able to get Thor to agree to bringing Loki back to the aircraft. Something that Becca was very thankful for, because it brought them one step closer to the truth of what was happening. At least what they thought. Immediately upon landing, a stretcher was waiting for her. There was so much commotion she barely even knew what was happening before she was being rolled away from everyone.

"Everything is looking good, Agent Bex." The doctor on the Helicarrier spoke directly to her now, fixing the bandage around her thigh. For the better of the time she was in there, the doctors and nurses were only talking to themselves, like she was a doll they were practicing on. "We're going to be finishing a few more tests, but you should be clear to go in a few minutes."

"How deep is the wound?" Her voice was a deep rasp. It was probably from the deep, guttural screaming she had done but also from holding back tears that had been threatening her eyes.

Dr. Ahner finished the dressing tightly before looking up at the younger girl. "It wasn't deep enough to do any severe damage." The older, black haired women gave her a sympathetic smile that was suppose to ease her worries, but it only made her annoyed. "To keep it that way, you're going to have to stay off of it for days."

"Excuse me!" That statement finally unhazed her mind. She sat up from her reclined position too fast, feeling the muscle pull her stitched wound.

"I mean it, Bex." Dr. Ahner carefully pushed her back to lay down again. It wasn't the first time she had fixed up Becca, so she was prepared for the fight from the get go. Every single time a member of Team Delta was injured, more times than not, they were assigned to her. And every single time that fought her tooth and nail about resting. "We'll get you a pair of crutches."

At the words, Becca's eyes went back to the ceiling to restart her counting not even watching as her doctor left her side. She had failed. She failed her mission and now was out of commission to help on what was to happen next. Becca was a perfectionist. It was just something that ran through her bones with being a dancer. So this was her worst nightmare.

"You going to yell at me again if I ask you how you are?"

Her eyes fell off of the ceiling and down to where her father had entered the room. He was back in his civilian clothes, she had no doubt, charging the suit somewhere on deck. Becca could recall somewhere in her mind him trying desperately to follow her into surgery but was told he needed to wait until she was in recovery.

"I think I'm on too many meds right now to put up a good enough rebuttal."

Tony smirked casually at her remark, arms crossing his chest as his eyes took in the scene before him. He was slightly calmer at the situation than when he had originally came to her rescue. But he also knew how strong his daughter was, and sometimes it was too much for her own good. "You need anything? Water? Food?" She merely shook her head, eyes glazed over. "Sleep?"

"Too much going on to sleep." She just desperately wanted to get out of the care unit and back to doing something worthwhile.

"Well, that doesn't matter. You just got an arrow removed from your leg. There's nothing more you can do."

Becca's eyes narrowed at him. Clearly there was a fight left in her. "Well, you don't have to worry about that because doc says I'm out of commission. So, congrats. You got your way." Tears filled her eyes again, making her turn her head away from him in hopes of hiding the emotions. But Tony knew his daughter more than she assumed.

This is what worried the both of them about working together, individually. They were bound to butt heads over the amount of risking each of them were putting on their lives. But for Tony, this was his daughter. His little girl. She might be a young adult now but that didn't stop him from worrying about everything.

Tony took the last few steps to be beside her now. He gently reached out to soften the wild waves that had formed in her brown hair. "I'm sorry, baby girl." He whispered, keeping the moment between the two even though the nurses weren't paying attention to what was happening around them. He knew she was upset about being pulled out, but also from who did this to her in the first place. "Did he recognize you?"

The younger Stark slowly turned back to him, his hand now cupping her cheek. "I don't know for sure." She spoke faintly, not wanting to break the bubble that seemed to form around them. She hadn't seen her father in so long, so this wasn't the most ideal situation. "Clint...he looked straight at me but didn't say anything to me. He could have killed me-"

"-But he didn't."

"And that's why I think something was off. That arrow was pointed at my head. He had it aimed and ready to go." Becca looked up again, replaying the scene in her head. She didn't know if she could ever get those icy eyes out of her brain. But she was right, he did move the arrow. "He was fighting the control. He had to be." She looked back to Tony. "He's in there fighting."

He nodded, arms coming to cross against his chest again. The arc reactor easily glowing under the button up shirt and tie. There was a lot going on through his own head right now, about as much as anyone on the ship. But one moment from earlier was raising questions in his mind. "So...anything you want to tell me about a previously frozen artifact?"

She rolled her eyes. Explaining the relationship to him was the least of her concern. What she was more worried about was the amount of groveling she knew was going to have to do to try to explain this to Steve. She had never seen his eyes so cold.

"I'm taking it you're more than just acquaintances?" He continued on.

"I've been helping him adjust." It was so much more than that, but Becca didn't have it in her at the moment to explain the situation.

"Helping him adjust but just casually leaving out your last name."

She rubbed her brow line, wishing at the moment there were drugs to knock her out. "It's complicated, okay? But yes. I know he was close with grandpa, I was just trying to help him out."

The father and daughter just stared at each other, both having different reactions of the man. Both of them to be exact. But again, this wasn't the time for them to get into any of their deep family drama. Thankfully, Coulson walked in at the perfect time to officially put an end to this.

"Sorry for interrupting." Phil's eyes reading the tension in the room between the family. "I brought some clothes that Natasha pulled for you. She thought you would be more comfortable in shorts."

Becca smiled at him, accepting the pile. "Like always, she is correct. Thanks for this."

"No problem." He smiled back at his agent, glancing at her injury but he already knew the prognosis. "Everyone is meeting on the bridge to discuss further. Loki is locked away."

"Okay. Let me get changed." Becca carefully sat up and swung her legs off the bed. If she wasn't in increasing pain it would almost be comical to see her now torn uniform pants where they basically had to cut one leg into shorts to get to her injury.

Tony placed a hand on her shoulder, steadying her as she stood up on one foot. "Are you positive you're ready-"

"-Dad. I love you. I appreciate your worry. But let me do my job." Her sickeningly sweet tone had the undertones of 'back the fuck off' in the nicest way possible.

Tony did one last glance over before finally giving in and nodding. The room emptied for her to slowly change out of her bloody clothes and try to make herself as presentable as possible with her current bum leg. And as she sat back down for a second to pull her boots back on, the crutches that sat next to her were almost there to laugh and point. But she grabbed them anyways.

Becca crutched along behind the two older men. They were having their own in-depth conversation from what she could make out about Coulson's relationship with 'the cellist'. Becca knew very little about her, given the information that she was able to pull from Coulson. The things she knew was that her name was Audrey, she played the cello, and she had made him gaga more than the return of Captain America. What really took her by surprise was she didn't know her father was keeping tabs on Phil's life. And that bit of intellect warmed her soul.

The trio finally found their way to the bridge, seeing the rest of the group had been assembled.

"Iridium. What do they need the iridium for?" Bruce asked the group from his spot in the back, pacing back and forth.

"It's a stabilizing agent." Tony spoke up, all of their attention now on the three of them hobbling in. Well, one of them hobbling. The iridium, they found out was what Clint had stolen from the institute.

Phil blushed softly as Tony finished the quiet conversation between the two of them about keeping love alive before separating. The higher agent pulled out the chair next to Natasha, allowing Becca to fall into it before resting the crutches against the butt of the table. She softly thanked him, rolling herself into the table, feeling eyes going back and forth between herself and her father.

"It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD." Tony continued, walking over to give Thor a friendly hit on the shoulder where he stood at the front of the table. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing." He simply ignored Thor's face of bewilderment and continued on. "Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants." Tony stood at Fury's command station, and watched the kid in him come out. "Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails. That man is playing Galaga. He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did. How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns." Hill stood off to the side, arms crossed. Her usual stance against nonsense.

"Sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density. Something to kick-start the Cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?"

"Last night." Tony shrugged, looking over everyone. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked from his spot sitting at the opposite end of the table away from both of the women.

"He would have to heat the Cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Bruce answered, still pacing.

Tony countered back. "Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilise the quantum tunnelling effect."

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."

"Finally, someone who speaks English." The older Stark smiled, going to shake the doctor's hand.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve muttered under his breath at the exchange that was over his head.

Becca snorted at the comment, a small smile finally coming over her face for the first time in a long time now. She looked up hoping to meet Steve's eyes across the table and she did. But they weren't the warmth she had grown so use to. They were lifeless when they connected with hers, the smile falling off her face again just as quickly. He looked away first, turning to see what the two men behind him were up to.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner." Tony's greeting continued. "Your work on anti electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster."

Bruce pursed his lips but took it in stride. "Thanks."

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the Cube." Fury walked in, obviously hearing what was going on. "I was hoping you might join him."

"I would start with that stick of his." Steve spoke up again. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys?" Thor queried, brown line wrinkled in confusion. "I do not understand."

"I do!" Steve announced, overjoyed by the first time in a long time fully getting something automatically. He looked back and forth over everyone, feeling their eyes on him. Except one pair that use to make things slightly easier. Now, he just felt out of place all over again. "I-I understood that reference."

"Shall we play, Doctor?" Tony ignored the situation and looked back toward his new buddy.

Bruce nodded, gesturing towards hallway. "This way, sir."

Everyone for the most part broke off after that, going about their own work or headspace while Becca and Natasha still sat their, both spies watching everyone's actions.

"This isn't going to end up good." Natasha whispered.

Becca shook her head with pursed lips. "Probably not."

The redhead's gaze went under the table, seeing the bandage covering the other's thigh. "That looks like it's going to be a bitch."

The brunette glanced over confused until she saw her eyes on her injury. "Dr. Ahner says I'm out. I have to keep off it for a couple of weeks."

Natasha couldn't help the dark chuckle, knowing very well the outcome. "How's that going to go for you?"

"If Loki and Clint decide not to be dicks it'll be great."

"Tell me again."

Becca looked over at her confidant with sorrow in her eyes, but all Natasha's read was determination. Becca had already given her the extreme play by play while they were waiting on the jet for the four men to return earlier. She really couldn't bear saying it all over again and keeping her head out of the clouds.

"Tasha, don't do this." Her voice so low now. This conversation was private, and no one else on this ship needed to hear their words. "If I replay the scene one more time I'm going to lose it."

Natasha nodded, upset, but understanding. "I'm going to beat the shit out of him."

Those words were never truer then now. She always threatened it in a joking manner when Clint got on her nerves to an extreme that even she couldn't handle. But now was more.

Becca found her eyes transfixed to a different scene in front of her, that somehow worked. Steve and Thor stood next to each other, arms both crossed, while they talked about something low. It was two men that were very much out of their element but there seemed to be an easiness with them as they talked. It made her chest tighten with happiness for the both of them.

"He was a worried wreck, you know." Natasha told her, watching her eyes drag over him. "He was pacing the entire time until we heard you were out of surgery."

"He's got a funny way of showing it." Becca sighed, seeing the conversation ending and Steve exit the bridge.

"Give him time. I mean he just found out you aren't as sweet and innocent as you seem."

Becca glared over at her with a squint while Natasha just played it off with a simple shrug. "I don't have time to play this out." With only using one leg she managed to pull herself off the chair to the best of her ability, the crutches going under her arms automatically.

"Don't do anything to stupid."

She didn't turn back at that comment, just followed the same path he took out of the room. She took her time down the hallways, getting a better handle of the annoying crutches. She knew she was going to forgo them as soon as possible. It wasn't long until she finally found what she was looking for. Becca stood on the side of the door that lead into the lab that Tony and Bruce had been working in, and now was also joined by Steve. It was easy for her to spy since the entire lab was made up of windows except where the doors were placed, so she just watched.

From the look of her father being nonchalant but cocky and Steve having a hard face of no nonsense, she could pretty much make out what the atmosphere was on the other side of the glass. The only one left was Bruce who seemed to be playing the cautious card. Not that she knew him well enough to determine that.

Before she could make herself known, Steve was turning around and stomping out of the room. Leaning against her crutches, she waited for him to exit, ready to follow him if need be. He didn't even notice her as he walked through the sliding door, immediately going the opposite direction as her.

"Where ya headed?" Her voice determined. She let him have his moment to 'adjust', now it was time to move on.

Steve paused in the hallway, jaw clenching more than it already was from two different Starks. "You spying on me now?" He looked over his shoulder to finally really look at her. "Or have you been doing that since the beginning?"

"If I was spying on you I wouldn't be asking. Also, do you see my mobility at the moment?" Becca gestured, looking ridiculous in her gettup. He didn't say anything again, but was turned to her now, hands holding his belt buckle. It was progress. But after knowing him for the good part of four months, she could see something else was rattling through his brain. Becca had a feeling it had something to do from the conversation he just left. "What is it?"

His eyes found hers again at the deep concern she now held in her voice. Coating over him as it usually did. But that comfort that was once there now felt like chills over his body. And it wasn't something he wished for.

"Can we please put our drama on hold for a second. Let me help you with whatever is going on."

Steve thought about it for a second but finally gave in. "Where is storage?"

She was taken back by the question, not understanding. "Like what kind?"

"Equipment. Probably behind a secured door."

"Steve-"

"-You tell me where it is and I'll let you try to explain yourself."

She wanted to ask why, but she didn't want to let the offer leave the table. Gesturing to her right, the soldier followed the hobbled girl down the maze of hallways. It was a few ways down where no one had any reason to be unless they were security or specifically sent. As they came to the door, Becca pulled out her SHIELD ID for access into the secured room.

"Well, that's a problem." She commented, watching as ACCESS DENIED blinked across the small panel.

"That's fine." Steve moved around her, studying the metal door for a second, before using his super soldier strength to pull the door out of its lock. Sliding it with minimal effort. Becca didn't even know what to say at the effort, utterly shocked for really seeing his strength for the first time. She followed in behind him, both looking over the rows and rows of containers that were each way they looked.

"Want to tell me what we're looking for now?" Crutched over to the first box, she started reading the label to see what was inside it.

"Anything that would involve the tesseract." Steve's focus was going from the first floor to the second, trying to figure out where things would be placed.

"I can look down here, if you want to look up there." She gestured for him. He was uneasy about it, like he didn't want to leave her alone to hide something on him and she saw it. "Have you literally lost all trust with me just because of my last name? Which means absolutely nothing, by the way."

The man turned back to her, real close now. He was towering over her, almost to trying to intimidate her, which wasn't working. "Fine. You want to play truth. What do you know about the tesseract?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are you and Fury hiding about this situation."

"I know nothing." She pointed hard at her chest, glaring right back at him. "Just because I'm an agent, doesn't mean I'm privy to every little detail of what is going on. Here's the literal minuscule details I know; SHIELD has been running tests on the cube to understand it and Clint was part of security. That's all I've got. Sorry to disappoint whatever scheme you think I'm in on, but I'm not."

It was her time now to turn away from him, starting to look over the cargo. In his head he knew he was being unreasonable with her, but it almost gave his anger a source to be used for. Almost like he's been looking for that outlet. So when one Stark was mentioned, he just decided to clump his anger together towards the family.

But he took his answer as the truth. "And you would tell me if you did?"

She nodded. "I know about the last time you saw it too." That he wasn't expecting and she knew she was stepping on that line they had created. "So I understand why you are so inclined to find out more. And I'm right there with you." That comment had Steve now truly confusing his own thoughts in his head.

"I'll take a look up here." And with that, Steve jumped up to the second floor, easily throwing his body over the railing.

"Show off." Becca rolled her eyes. In any other circumstance, she could have also been able to throw her body up there as well. It might have taken a bit more muscle but she would have been able to do it, minus the leg injury.

She didn't know what she was looking for but searched. She didn't find out a lot of the things that you would consider suspicious. Weapons mostly, either theirs or prototype. Even things that she understood to be from enemies of their past. But nothing that would truly be used with the tesseract.

That was until Steve came jumping back down to her. Anger written across his face and a weapon in hand.

"What is that?" Becca was completely intrigued. Not ever seeing the weapon before.

"Hydra."

"Hydra? As in-"

"As in the exact same weapons I was fighting against."

"But…" She tried to make sense of the situation, but nothing was turning out well in her head. "SHIELD wasn't even around at that time, that means they literally had to go out of there way to bring it here. To have it here specifically."

Steve shook his head, staring down at the weapon. Hands gripping it so tightly, she thought he was going to break it. "This isn't understanding. This is creating another war." He stalked out of the room for her to follow.

Becca crutched behind Steve as fast she could, he was on a mission and wasn't slowing down for anyone. As they entered the lab, immediately the sound of Fury, Tony, and Bruce arguing was falling on their ears.

"What is 'Phase 2'?" Tony asked, looking at whatever he had hacked into on the screen.

Steve slammed the weapon on the counter, gathering everyone's attention. "Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the Cube to make weapons. Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me."

Fury shook his head, trying to get him to understand. "Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're making-"

"-I'm sorry, Nick." Tony turned the screen around, fully showing blueprints for a weapon. "What were you lying?"

"You said you were working to understand it." Becca pointed out. "Designing weapons is a big step ahead of that."

The Captain lowered his brow. "I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit."

"Did you know about this?" Bruce asked Natasha as her and Thor entered the lab.

Natasha stared him down. "You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?"

All he did was laugh at her poor attempt. "I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed."

"Loki is manipulating you."

"And you've been doing what, exactly?"

She stalked towards him like he was her prey. "You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy." Bruce grabbed the screen, pointing out the very thought out diagrams across it. "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

Fury took a moment before pointing to the god standing on his left. "Because of him."

Thor was beyond confused by the call out. "Me?"

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that levelled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet."

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" The Director sized Thor up. "And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve countered back.

Thor stepped forward, tired of being blamed. "Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"A higher form? Humans against gods doesn't seem like a fair fight." Becca who had been trying to be leveled headed from the beginning of all of this was finding the quicksand getting deeper.

"You forced our hand. We had to come up with something." Nick was overall tired of explaining himself.

"A nuclear deterrent." Tony said the words that weren't being said. "Because that always calms everything right down."

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark."

Steve rolled his eyes. "I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep-"

"-Wait, wait. Hold on. How is this now about me?" Tony gawked at him.

"I'm sorry? It's everything?"

"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor's words creating an overall annoyance around him that Fury decided he would finish.

"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up? "

It was hard to tell from there who started it, but everyone kept talking over one another. Yelling back and forth, the arguments not evening making much sense quite honestly. But all Becca could do was watch back and forth, feeling the tension sit on her chest. This wasn't right. This was more than just a simple annoyance of one another. This was plagued by the energy source that was glowly from the front of the room.

"This is what he wanted." Becca whispered to herself, thinking over the situation. Loki wanted to be brought here. To cause a distraction. To have Clint and whoever else is on their side come and find them. To wipe them out so they were useless. "This is what he wants!"

Her voice broke through the room, bringing everyone to a halt to look at her. "Loki wanted to be brought here. He wants us to fight each other, to cause internal problems."

"She's right." Thor nodded. "Loki will cause problems wherever he goes. But that doesn't mean this is the solution." He looked back at Fury again, clearly having a serious problem with him. "You speak of control, yet you court chaos."

"That's his M.O., isn't it?" Bruce shrugged. "I mean, what are we, a team? No, we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're...we're a time bomb."

Fury's eye was wide now, as he looked over Bruce. "You need to step away."

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony let his hand rest of Steve's shoulder but was harshly batted away.

"You know damn well why. Back off!"

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me."

"Yeah." Steve stalked around him, the two coming face to face ready for a battle. "Big man in a suit of armour. Take that off, what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Well, he wasn't wrong.

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you." The anger, that true anger that Steve has been harboring inside was coming out. "I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire."

"Always a way out. You know, You may not be a threat but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

"A hero? Like you?" The man in front of him that was splashed across his childhood was here for him to understand how he really felt. "You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle."

Steve's eye just narrowed further. "Put on the suit. Let's go a few rounds."

If it was another time, anyone would have joined in with Thor as he laughed at the two men. "You people are so petty...and tiny."

"Yeah, this is a team." Bruce shook his head, wanting to be done with this situation and these people as soon as possible.

Fury went back to his original plan. "Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr Banner back to his-"

"Where? You're renting my room."

"The cell was just in case-"

"-In case you needed to kill me. But you can't. I know, I tried." At that statement everyone seemed to be really getting a hint on how far Bruce could go with the Hulk. "I got low. I didn't see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk." Without his knowledge, Bruce had picked up the sceptre. Everyone gathering their bearings in case of something big. "You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?"

"Bruce." Becca being the calm in the hurricane around them called out softly, not to put him more on edge. "Please, put down the sceptre."

She watched as his eyes went from hard to confusions and then to surprise at feeling the weight in his hand before looking down to see it as well. It was truly affecting all of them just like she had thought.

At that, a high pitched beeping came from the computer behind her that was supposed to be the pinpoint on the cube.

"Got it." Tony announced, letting everyone know that was it.

Bruce dropped the sceptre back to the table before going to the system. "Sorry, kids, you don't get to see my party trick after all." Natasha following behind him.

"You located the Tesseract?" Thor asked, not fully understanding everything that was actually taking place in the lab.

"I could get there fastest." Tony announced.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is a match for it."

"You're not going alone." Steve grabbed Tony's arm, and now in a switch of play, Tony was the one to smack it down.

"You're gonna stop me?" The two hot heads were once again face to face.

"Put on the suit, let's find out."

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man."

"Put on the suit."

"Can the both of you stop for like 5 seconds!" Becca yelled, officially done with the ego race. Said men turned to see the fire in her eyes as it was directed towards only them. "This is bigger than your little pissing match."

Thor laughed again, but this time in a genuine way towards the younger girl. "I like you."

The next few seconds were anything but simple. The last thing Becca fully heard was Bruce mumble 'oh, God' before she was blown off her feet. An explosion ripping through the room, causing everyone to fly in different directions. The problem had hit them head on.

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Fight Club anybody? BTW super excited about Thor and Becca's introduction as a friendship begins!

Up Next: Thor & Becca battle together, things finally come to a head for Stecca, & the lose of importance.

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR FOR MY REBECCA!**


	16. Gravity

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Gravity - With Confidence

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

We have 45 minutes left of Avengers! WOW! I've got some asks, and don't worry everyone there will be a sequel to this story and so on. I know I'm writing through Avengers 4, so you can put that's doubts to bed!

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**Gravity**

_I fight through to see tomorrow_  
_Don't get tired, don't beg or borrow_  
_I fight through to see tomorrow_  
_Held so tight, now watch me let go_

It was an overall odd feeling taking over but mostly of confusion, pain, and heat. Becca yelled out in agony almost automatically as her body was lifted over her feet and sent her flying to the ground. Landing of course on her weakened side. She knew it was an explosion but the source or where it actually came from was foggy in her brain. The young girl screamed again, hands trying to grip into the floor to take away the pain, but all she could do was bang her fists on the ground as her forehead rolled back and forth on the linoleum.

"Lady Bex." Thor pulled himself off the floor to a kneeling position where he had landed next to her. His voice driven with concern. The explosion clearly not affecting the god as much as the humans. "Are you alright?"

The only answer she could give was a groan, rolling herself over on to her back. The pain was simply blinding through her body. She was positive if she looked down there would be blood seeping through her bandage from where her stitches had opened.

"Can you hear me?" The god of thunder was right next to her now, hands gently placed on either side of her face hoping to at least get her to look at him if she wasn't going to respond.

Becca did crack her eyes open to him finally, first taking in his face hoping to let that pull some pain away.

"We need to get her back to the infirmary." Fury spoke up, shaking out his head, still reeling from the explosion as well. It seemed they were the only three left in the lab. Not knowing exactly what had happen to the others.

Those words gained her attention. With a shake of her head, Becca used Thor's hands to bring her up into a sitting position. "I'm fine."

"The hell you are!" The Director now stood over the both of them, his eye glaring down at her. "You are out, Agent Bex. That's an order."

She didn't answer as her director told her what to do. He was the boss after all. All she could hear though was yelling, odd noises coming from engine rooms, and just overall chaos. And here she was being told to sit out of it. Because it was her fault she was injured anyway. She let her feelings get in the way of the mission.

"Thor, help her get back please." Fury gave her another glance before running out of the room to get back on the situation at hand.

The man nodded, gently easing Becca off the ground with complete ease as if she was a simple feather. "Do you want me to carry you? What would be easier?"

She shook her head, holding onto his forearms as she was now balancing back on her uninjured leg. "Just help me walk."

Forgetting about the damaged crutches, Thor wrapped her arm around his neck with his hand supporting her side and started out the door. It was almost dragging by the looks of the way her toes barely hit the floor from the height difference between the two.

"You know this would be better if you would just let me carry you." Thor explained, dodging crew members as they ran in every direction.

"I've already been told to sit out. I'd rather save some resemblance of my dignity before I do so."

"You know, being told to rest in a fight isn't a dishonor. It just means you have done your part. Now it's time for someone else to carry the weight."

This wasn't something she expected to come out of the god of thunder's mouth. The name made Thor seem like all he did or wanted to do was fight. To find battle after battle to go in and kick some ass. But she was learning he was anything but the stereotype that was draped over him.

"You should be a basketball coach with that type of talk." It was her first joke in a long time, because the company she was in gave her some light back.

He looked down at her with a confused face as he kepting moving them. "Basketball?"

Becca simply shook her head with a smile. "I'll explain it to you when we're not in the middle of an infiltration."

His words truly amused her on how similar Steve and Thor was in this situation right now. Two men both fighting a war for a world that they barely knew. Both out of their element expect when they were needed in a fight.

That was when a growl, like one they had never heard before, came rattling through the floor and echoing off the hallways walls. It stopped the two of them immediately.

"What the hell was that?" Thor asked, watching as everyone seemed to move faster and was on more of an edge at the sound.

Becca knew though, and it turned her blood cold. "Bruce."

"That was Dr. Banner?" His voice a high octave of astonishment.

"That was the Hulk." She pulled her arm off his shoulder, teetering to lean against the wall behind her now. "Hulk will tear this place apart and no human will be able to stop him. But you can."

He watched her with uncertainty. "How do you know so much about me?" It had been on his mind since he made his presences known on the jet back.

She merely shrugged. "I've done my homework."

"Yes, but Loki-"

"I'll go stand watch so no one can get him out."

Thor simply looked at her as she could barely keep herself upwards. "But you can't stand."

The spy rolled her eyes, taking out her knife and gun. "Fine. I'll sit, shoot, and stab." She gave him a sarcastic smile before putting her weapons back in her holster. "Now go!"

Thor gave her one more cautious look before running down the hallways to where the growls kept coming. Becca watched his figure leave until he was out of sight. Everyone passing didn't make much eye contact with the injured agent, literally on the sidelines. But Thor was right, someone needed to go watch Loki. And that was the least she could do in her current position.

Wishing she still had her crutches, a turn of event from earlier, Becca carefully placed her injured leg on the ground. She tested her weight carefully, feeling different pain pressures shoot up through her thigh. But after a couple of uneasy steps, it seemed like walking on the top of her toes was the least painful. It was still shaking through her body, don't get her wrong, but she was dealing. She was extremely thankful of her ballet training at this specific moment.

With one hand on the wall, the other holding her left thigh, Becca began her long trek to the cage. With each step she would either grind her teeth or suck in a deep breath, trying to make this mind over matter.

"We've got a perimeter breach." Someone said through her comm. "Hostiles are in SHIELD gear. Call-outs at every junction."

Becca growled, making her pace faster. "Smart Barton. Really goddamn smart." She said to herself, knowing it was definitely his plan.

She could hear screams and people started running her way in the opposite direction. That's when she saw a man dressed in SHIELD tactical gear coming around the corner, gun ready to shoot. The man took notice to Becca almost immediately. As he went to shoot at her head, Bex dropped to the floor, taking out her gun on the way. As the bullets lodged into the wall of where she was just standing, she aimed and shot the man straight through the mask, sending him to the ground. Unmoving.

Without a second though, she pulled her body back up and kept moving. After another close call with her able to counter the man, she was finally down to the detention level where Loki was being held. But you know that feeling you get when you're on a rollercoaster and your stomach sort of feels like it drops out? Becca felt it and had to hold tightly to the wall as the ship seemed to be falling out of the sky.

"Sir, we've lost all power in engine one." The same man from earlier spoke through the comm with Fury replying.

"It's Barton. He took out our systems. He's headed for the detention level. Does anyone copy?"

Now that nauseous feeling wasn't about the ship. She was there, but the question was, could she fight him again? But before she could answer, someone else did.

"This is Agent Romanoff. I copy."

Becca could hear the unsteadiness in her voice but not knowing if it was about the task at hand or something else entirely. She pushed it away and moved on with her own mission. With a few more steps, she had made it to the holding cell. Becca turned the corner cautiously, gun raised in case of an attack. All she found through was Loki sitting in the fortress.

"My, my, my." He stood up, a wicked smile painted over his greasy appearance. "I was not expecting you here."

"I get that a lot." She smirked in an unfriendly way, finding her energy to stand on her own in the middle of the entrance way. One hand holding her gun while the other held tightly to her knife.

"You think it was smart coming here by yourself?" Loki's eyes taking a glance over her, studying the blood that was seeping through her bandage. Stitches clearly not able to do their job anymore.

"You think it was smart trying to rattle us up? You don't know what to expect-"

"-No, you don't, you injured princess." His words turned cold along with his stance. "We've injured you, and now you think you stand a chance?"

Becca's eye narrowed and her grip tightened. "He didn't kill me."

"Not yet! Barton is simply playing with his prey." Loki smirked, hands coming to rest behind his back. "He told me all about you. The delicate little girl whose father runs off of an iron suit. You want to help people but all you do is let your emotions get in the way. No actual skill included." He stared her down under his eyebrows. "So, this time, Barton will finish the job. Skinning you alive because no one will come save you when you scream."

Becca had barely any time to contemplate the god's words as three sets of footsteps echoed behind her. Taking a deep breath, knowing she was about to fight for her life, she turned around in a split second as she felt the first person behind her. Bex went to shoot but the man blocked her arm, giving her the perfect opportunity to use her knife to stab him in the throat. The only part of the tactical gear that was open.

The man immediately dropped to his knees, holding onto his throat. Bex went to back up, but the other two advanced on her one using the butt of the gun on her forehead while the other knocked out her leg. This sent her backwards, landing painfully on the stairs. The one who knocked out her leg now took it in his advantage to step on her injured thigh, keeping it there so she couldn't move. All she could do was send out an ear shattering scream in response. The man aimed the gun at her head while his counterpart ripped the weapons from her hand.

"Don't kill her." Loki commanded, enjoyment in his voice. "That will be Barton's job."

The first guard nodded but kept the pressure on her leg and gun aimed at her head. The second walked up the steps to the control panel. She tried to reach her gun to attempt to stop him, but the man above her just ground his boot deeper into her wound. The scream no longer pausing to be released.

As the guard opened the cage, she all of the sudden heard Thor's "No!" rip through the room out of nowhere.

He barely took a glance around as he ran straight towards his brother. Becca could only stare wide eyed above her head as Thor somehow ran straight through Loki's body. The momentum sending him flying to the ground from trying to tackle him. The second he was in there the guard closed the door, locking him in. With no knowledge of how, Becca saw Loki in awe appear by the controls.

"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" Loki asked his brother, hands again behind his back.

The guard holding her down had become distracted watching the events unfold before them as well. If she was quick enough she would possibly stab him with the knife in the top of her boot. But if she failed she would likely die. But at the moment it seemed like no matter what she was in the same situation.

Without a second thought, Becca went for it.

She slammed her heel off the uninjured leg into the floor producing a knife that snapped out of the front of it, before throwing her leg all the way up to ram the blade into the back of the man. She knew she made contact through the gear as the guard yelled out in pain and surprise, giving her enough time to grab her gun a few inches away, shooting him and then turning around to shoot the other guard standing by Loki. All the while seated.

"You should have killed me." Bex stomped her heel in the ground again to put the blade away. Using the railing she pulled herself up into a standing position.

She couldn't tell if Loki's face was one of impressed or almost knowing it was going to happen. "Maybe I should thank you. Clearly they weren't up for the task."

"Well that sounds desperate."

Thor, who had been seething in the cell, took it upon himself to hit the glass with his hammer with all his might. This caused the entrapment to shake and start to let loose.

"Thor, don't!" Becca pleaded with him, hobbling up the stairs. "You hit it again you'll go flying out of the sky."

Loki laughed, knowing the fate of his brother was now in his hands. "On second thought, go ahead. That would be quite enjoyable to watch." He stepped closer to the control panel.

"Not another step." Becca pointed the gun at him. She was so over this god of bullshit.

She wasn't quite sure what had happened, but her gun was thrown out of her hands and Loki was right in front of her. Using whatever magic this was to move in different places. He grabbed a hold of her, easily overpowering because he was a god, and manhandling her up the stairs. This just wasn't her week.

"Let her go, Loki." Thor's voice boomed. It bothered him that there was nothing for him to do.

"Why brother, it is only fair to treat her like an animal the same way they treated me." He was able to pin her against his chest, making it impossible to move her arms. "Humans think us immortal." He had them now back in front of the control panel. "Should we test that?"

"Move away, please." Coulson announced his presence on the bottom landing. He held a weapon in both hands, seemingly unfazed by the situation, while the three of them were surprised by him appearing. "You like this?" he asked, walking closer. "We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer." Loki moved him and Becca cautiously closer. "Even I don't know what it does. You want to find out?"

And as Coulson powered up the gun, Becca felt the grip that was just on her body simply evaporate. Before she could understand what was happening, Loki appeared behind Coulson and stabbed him through the back with his scepter. Not knowing how he got it back.

Becca and Thor both screamed out almost in unison as Coulson's body was lifted and then thrown to the ground. Becca grabbed another knife and started to advance on Loki who was coming right back at her. All she could feel was rage. But as she went to swipe, he disappeared once again, having her go flying to the floor. Loki appeared back beside her fallen body and stomped hard on her wound, sending a blaze through her body with pain.

Loki didn't wait any longer for another distraction. He opened the gate underneath the cell that led to the sky.

"Thor…" Becca called out, warning him.

His eyes found hers, nodding to let her know he understood. "I swear to you, I will come find you, Bex."

And with that, Loki dropped his brother out of the ship and closed the seal again. Becca could only stare with wide eyes at the now empty compartment.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Becca mumbled. Sweat, tears, blood, and so much more just covering her body. "What is so wrong that you want to kill your own brother?"

"You know nothing you useless human." Loki sneered down at her.

"I know you're going to lose." Coulson spoke up, still in the same slumped position.

"Am I?" The god rose an eyebrow at him.

"It's in your nature."

"Your heroes are scattered. Your floating fortress falls from the sky. Where is my disadvantage?"

Agent Coulson took a moment before answering. "You lack conviction." Loki just gave him a confused face. "Becca...duck."

Said girl barely had any time to do so before Coulson used the gun to shoot the god straight through the other wall.

"So that's what it does." He joked before slumping down further in his position.

Becca pulled herself off the steps. Desperately trying to get to him before it was too late. "No no no no no." The word echoed out of her mouth, eyes wide, as Becca fell down to his side. "Why did you do that?"

Coulson simply stared up at her, breath coming in short spurts. "Because…it saved you."

She pulled the gun from his hands, carefully setting it down to keep out of the way. The hole in his chest leaking dark blood, while some was spreading to his lips. "We could have done something else. Anything else." Her throat closed up, tears building up to the surface.

"No." His voice was weak. With the little strength he had left, Phil raised his hand to gently caress the girl's cheek. "It needed to be done."

"Just stay awake, okay? Just keep your eyes open." She held his hand, trying to keep him here with her while also trying to figure out what to do. "Help! Someone help!" Becca screamed, head turned back to the hallway to try to get someone there as soon as possible.

Phil groaned, knowing there wasn't much left to be done despite her urges. "Rebecca," she turned back to him, "it's okay."

"No-"

"-It's okay." He gave her a soft, painful smile being the leader he was until the very end. "Just promise me to keep smiling."

Becca sucked her lips in, nodding, trying to keep herself together for him. But as she tried to gain her voice, she watched his eyes fall down and his body sink. The grip he once held on her hand was only her grasping for more. She just started sobbing. Her breathing losing the war with her lungs.

This was her fault. She should have stayed out of it. Or she should have fought harder. Something to change the outcome of the situation. But now here she was holding the hand of the one man that had been by her side since day one, actually even before that. And she failed him.

SHIELD crew had started making their way down there, either having heard her yells for help or was just going through the motions. She fully didn't take notice to what was happening around her until Director Fury was cautiously kneeling down beside her.

"Bex?" He asked, taking his own look over his right-hand man. "What happen?"

"Loki." She whispered. The tears had stopped once there were more people but there was evidence of them on her face. It didn't matter though cause she refused to look at him. Just kept a steady hold on Coulson's hand. "Loki stabbed him through the chest and sent Thor down in the cell."

Fury leaned forward and gently closed his eyes. Allowing the man to be in peace. Becca's lip just trembled again until she finally bit down on it. It wasn't that much longer that the two of them sat there in silence before the medical team showed up.

"Bex, you got to get up." Fury stood, his voice lacking the usual authoritarian hardship it normally had.

"No." She shook her head, childlike.

"Becca, please." He was softer this time. When she still didn't move, he settled on grasping her under her arms and pulling her up himself. She let him, simply watching her hand finally lose the contact that had been anchoring her to the man that lay before them.

Becca moved to hold the railing beside Fury, the pain in her thigh almost being a relief to the emotional pain she felt in her chest. Her eyes watching as the tea assessed the situation. It wasn't good.

"Agent Coulson is down." The director spoke through the comms. Echoing in Becca's head.

"A medical team is on its way to your location."

Fury shook his head even though they couldn't see it. "They're here." His own eyes and overall demeanor dropping at the next words he had to say. "They called it."

* * *

Becca stared down at the fresh bandage on her leg. The pristine white a major contrast to her tanning skin. Dr. Ahner had patched her up again with a stern look but the young woman couldn't honestly care less. The stitches weren't too bad, so there wasn't much hard done. That was her body however. Her mind was a different story.

She quite honestly wasn't a hundred percent sure on how she got back to the infirmary, this time however put into a smaller room and she was thankful for that. The heavy door blocked out any sound coming from behind those walls, so she was alone with her thoughts. She realized that this was the first she had truly been alone since the night before she got on this ship. It had felt so long ago but it was only two days.

So she sat on the bed and played with her fingers. For once not wanting to touch a knife. It just didn't feel right. If only she could start everything over again.

The sound of the door opening gained her attention, but as she looked up to see who it was she immediately regretted it.

"I don't have any energy left to fight with you, so could you please just go?" Her words were soft, whispered down to her lap. But he heard them. He always heard her.

"I'm not here to fight." Steve replied gently, letting the door slide shut behind him.

Becca was thankful for that, but also was apprehensive around him at the moment. She watched under her eyelashes as Steve came to take a seat next to her. The top of his uniform was gone, leaving him in just the blue under armor. The two sat there for a few seconds, neither knowing how to address the other. This was something that hadn't been an issue since they first met.

"I'm sorry, Becca. I'm so sorry about Coulson." Steve was the first to speak up, feeling like he needed to.

All she could do was nod and bite her lip again. Holding back every emotion inside of her that was threatening to come to the surface.

"I know he meant a lot to you."

"He was the first person I ever met from SHIELD." She recalled, finally opening up. "It was back when my father was kidnapped. I had my final recital at school and I was just waiting day and night for someone to find my dad. And as I was leaving, he stopped me in the hallway and gave me his card. Said if I needed anything to just call.

"I had no idea what SHIELD was at the time, but he kept popping up places. Always kept an eye out." She laughed, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "He even told me later on that he had been there for my whole recital. Had watched the whole thing standing in the shadows in the back."

Steve nodded, swallowing his own lump in his throat at her words. "He sounded like a good man."

"The best." She truly smiled now, even with tears in her eyes. Because that's what he wanted. He wanted her to smile again. "He never raised his voice. He was so smart. So kind."

She wanted to continue. She wanted to say it was her fault that his life was taken away because of her actions. But she didn't want his pity. Didn't want to hear that it wasn't her fault because she knew that it was.

Steve could feel the change in her. Could see that talking about him was sinking her deep and she was desperate to get out. "How's the leg?" So, he changed the topic.

Becca took another deep breath and wiped her eyes. "Hurts like a bitch. But the doctor said there isn't any further damage."

"I'm sorry I didn't come to you immediately." the super soldier clasped his own hands in front of him. "I heard you scream when the explosion happened, but I just automatically went into attack."

"It's okay, Thor was there to help me."

"Yes, but I should have been."

The intentness in his words finally got her took fully look over at him and he was staring right back at her. The hazel and blue eyes finally able to hold each other's gaze again. The clouds however were still hovering over them.

"Just tell me why you lied." He whispered, almost pleaded.

"I didn't lie." She shook her head. "I just omitted some things. Everything I told, everything I've ever told you was true."

"Yeah, but your grandfather...Howard…"

"I know. I have heard all the stories about what my grandfather did for you." She took a moment to think it over. "If I would have told you I was a Stark, do you really think we would have started out the same way?"

She let him think it over, not knowing if he had an answer, so she gave him one.

"We wouldn't have. My entire life I've had everything planned out for me because of my last name. I wanted you to know me as me. I wanted to know Steve Rogers, not Captain America, who everyone else thinks they know. I told you that and I promised you that. Hasn't changed." Becca gained his eye contact again. "You promised me you wouldn't hate me."

Steve shook his head forcibly. "I don't hate you, Becca. I don't know how I would hate you. It's just…" He didn't know how to explain the confusion over the situation.

"You just don't trust me." She saw the uncertainty. "Look, we have the labels that everyone sees, I just thought this," she motioned between the two of them, "could be different."

There was a heavy pause between them, mostly Becca letting Steve sink everything in. This honestly was either going to make or break their friendship.

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

She chuckled darkly at the question. "There were so many times. The past couple days its been boiling on the edge of my tongue. But originally it was when I came back from the mission last month."

His eyebrows creased, remembering the time well. He was worried about her the whole time she was away. "Why didn't you?"

"The whole reason I was compromised on that mission was because they realized I was a Stark. It was the first time someone ever noticed me. So, when I came to your apartment and I saw you looking over my families files I froze. I didn't think it would sit well with you."

Steve remembered how he complained about her father that night and he understood where she was coming from. He probably would have told her to leave. But he also recalled her comforting him that same night when she gave him back his compass.

"I'm sorry, Steve." Becca truly meant the words, but almost regretted them as they just floated in the air with no reply.

There was no time left for him to respond as the door slid open again. Their own personal space had been broken. Natasha stood in the doorway this time.

"Sorry for interrupting...whatever this is, but Clint is awake, Bec."

Becca sat up fast at the words. Surprised didn't even begin to explain how she was feeling. "He's here?"

Natasha almost held the same surprise but in an opposite way. "No one told you? He's back."

"Oh my god!" She hopped off the bed almost completely forgetting about her leg until Steve was there to catch her before she crumbled to the ground. She grabbed her new crutches and followed Natasha out of the door, barely giving Steve a goodbye. It was only two doors down. He had been so close to her this whole time and she had no idea.

"Now, he's just getting out of the mind control. So be prepared if he goes into a spell." Natasha warned her just at the entrance.

"How'd you get him back?"

The red head smirked. "I told you I'd kick his ass."

Without any further questions, the door opened and the two walked in. Becca stopped just inside the door, honestly not prepared for this moment. Clint sat on the edge of the bed, similar to how she was just a few seconds ago, with his head in his hands. She wasn't scared to be in his presence and that mattered the most to her. Especially when his eyes lifted to her.

"Becca." His voice back to that soft, gravel tone he used only when he was around people he truly trusted. He was so happy to see her but could see the pain in her eyes. Then found her leg. "Goddamn it." His head feel back into his hands.

Becca looked over at Natasha to see if it was okay to move forward. She was returned with a soft smile and a nudge from the head. The brunette crutched to his side before carefully sitting down next to him. "I'm fine." She tried to reassure him, but he didn't take it.

"You are not fine." He argued, looking down at the bandage. "I did this. I put a damn arrow in your leg."

"It was almost my head." Becca retorted. "But you stopped it. You gained some control to change my fate."

She finally got him to look her in the eye. They were no longer that chilling blue. It comforted her, if only for a second. She didn't realize how much she had missed him in the past few months. Clint and Natasha were truly her teammates in every sense of the word. They were her best friends. They were her family.

"You can't let this keep your mind in a puddle." Natasha spoke up across from them. "We've already lost enough."

"What do you mean? Who did we lose?" Clint's eyes played tennis back and forth from his team. No one had told him yet about the death.

"We lost Coulson." Becca said the words. She was tired of saying and tired of thinking about it. But it was still true each time.

Silence fell over the room for their commander. Say what you wanted, but Phil Coulson was Team Delta. He was the one that strangled these three together and was their leader despite who was in charge of STRIKE. They were a foursome. That man had saved them all plenty of times, and he went out saving again.

"It was Loki, wasn't it?" Clint finally spoke up, the fire burning back in his eyes. "Did he get away?"

"Yes." Becca nodded. "But not before Coulson set him up in a blaze."

Natasha sighed, arms crossed. "Don't suppose you know where?"

Clint shook his head. "Didn't need to know. Didn't ask." He reached over to grab some water, Natasha stared out the door, while Becca played with her bandage. "He's going to make his play soon though. Today."

"We got to stop him." Natasha turned back around, the fire now in her eyes.

"Yeah? Who's we?"

"I don't know. Whoever's left."

"Yeah, it's not like I can mess up my leg any more than it is." Becca pursed her lips.

"Well," Clint swallowed, "if I put an arrow through Loki's eye socket I'd sleep better I suppose."

Natasha chuckled, pulling the chair to sit in front of the both of them. "Now you sound like you."

"But you don't." Clint stared her down, before turning to the girl next to him. "Neither do you." The admission gaining silence. "You both are spies, not soldiers. Now you want to wade into a war. Why?" Both girls looked at each other, neither wanting to start first. So, Clint took it upon himself to start with Natasha. "What did Loki do to you?"

"He didn't. He just…" She drowned off, contemplating.

"Tasha."

"I've been compromised." her voice turned dark at the thought of her past. "I've got red in my ledger. I'd like to wipe it out."

Clint nodded, clearing his throat before turning to their youngest. He watched her fingers move a mile a minute, just how Natasha had seen the day before. "Bec."

"I had my teammate almost kill me and then had to watch a good man die. This is more than just personal." She looked up, the fire now blazing in her eyes. "You always say I wear my heart on my sleeve. Well my heart is fucking broken and I'm ready to start mending it back up."

The three took a deep breath, reeling over their own angers and as a group. "If we do this," Clint spoke up, "we be smart about this."

"Problem." Becca raised a finger. "I can barely walk."

"You're going to get a shot. It will numb your leg." Clint announced, heading into the bathroom to wash up.

"For real?"

"Yeah. It's a fight and a half to get, but Dr. Ahner has used it on me before. You'll still feel some pain, but you should be able to get around for the most part."

The brunette sat jaw slacked at the news, before looking over to the red head. "Did you know about this?"

Natasha just raised her hands in a surrender. "I know very little about medicine."

The door slid open then, taking them by surprise. The two girls turned to see Steve standing there, fully suited up this time.

"Time to go."

"Go where?" Natasha rose from her seat.

"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?"

"I can." Clint came out of the bathroom.

Steve looked him over before glancing at Becca for a reading on him. Out of everyone in the room, and even with the drama that was currently between them, he still trusted her the most in the situation. She nodded, letting him know they were all good with Clint.

"Got a suit?" Steve asked, getting a 'yeah' from Clint. "Then suit up."

* * *

Up Next: It's the Battle of New York. Obviously.

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	17. Now

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Now - Paramore

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

I am like super damn proud of myself for finally getting to this and getting through this! This was the real turning point for the rest of the story. So let's do it!

* * *

****

**Now**

_Lost the battle, win the war_

_I'm bringing my sinking ship back to the shore_

_We're starting over, we'll head back in_

_There's a time and a place to die but this ain't it_

_If there's a future, we want it_

_Now_

"I feel like my leg isn't even a part of my body anymore. Is that normal? Should I be worried?"

"Bex…"

"What! Come on, this can't be normal? What the hell kind of shot did you put in my leg?"

"Clearly not something to get you to shut up."

Becca ignored Clint and continued to prod her injured leg. It was an odd sensation.

Clint had opened the conversation with Dr. Ahner with some sweet talk that quickly turned into a life or death situation. The doctor merely rolled her eyes, arms crossed the whole time, until she couldn't take Barton's nagging anymore. It hadn't affected her immediately. When Becca pulled on her back up suit, since the other one had pretty much been torn apart, she could still feel the pain as the leather tugged against her skin. But as the quad made their way to the jet, was when she started to feel the sensation.

And that's where she was now. Clint was stationed at the helm of the plane, being pilot, while Natasha sat next to him in the controls. That had left herself in the back with Steve. The awkwardness and hesitation between them was suffocating. She didn't know if she was alone in the feeling as he paced back and forth while she sat there, braiding her hair back out of her face. Also doing what she does best in anxiety ridden moments; keep producing words for no apparent reason.

Steve had explained to them how Tony believed Loki was heading to the Stark Tower. It would give Loki the grand show of what he wanted and that want was having the earth kneel at his feet. He was a showman after all.

"You want to try walking on it?"

Becca looked up at the tall, blonde man in front of her. Her hands coming to a halt in her hair. "What?"

"Your leg." Steve pointed at the limb. "Maybe try walking on it now to get use to it before we headed into...whatever is waiting for us."

"Yeah." She nodded, finishing the braid with a hair tie. "Makes sense."

As gracefully as she could, Becca used the seat to pull herself in a standing position. She held on tight to the bars next to her, still keeping most of her weight on her right leg. The young Stark took a deep, calming breath before putting a step with the leg, letting go in the process. It was going okay until Becca attempted to let all her weight rest on it to take the next step forward.

"Woah!" Steve scrambled forward to grab a hold of her before she face planted on the deck.

"Feels like I have a phantom limb." Becca held onto his biceps, allowing herself to rock her foot back and forth. It was almost a tingling feeling as she put further pressure.

That's when she began to understand her surroundings. Her senses became all too hyper focused. First was the tight pressure against her waist from where his hands were holding her steady. She could feel the heat settling against her skin under the material of her suit from the contact. Then it was the grip she was holding on him. Her delicate hands grasping against his arms tightly. Becca could feel Steve's muscles contracting as he held her. Finally, it was the small puffs of air grazing over her hair, knowing he was above her. He was looking down at her, watching to make sure she was stable. He was there to guide her.

And it was in that moment, the heat that was once resting against her sides had flowed through her whole body. He wasn't going to let her fall. After the deception she had led him through, he was right there ready to catch her if need be.

Steve Rogers truly was a better man than he believed.

"You okay? Do you need to sit down?" His voice was urgent now, taking her hesitation as that there was a problem.

She shook her head. "No, I'm good." Becca finally looked up now, taking in just how close they had become. Even under the helmet, his eyes were still bright to her. "Can you walk with me?"

Steve nodded, entranced by the way her face glowed for the first time in a long time. They were dealt such bad cards the past few days, he couldn't believe he forgot just how soft and alluring she was. "Y-yes. Of course."

With not much more time to lose, they took their time circling the back of the jet. Steve walked backwards while she hobbled along. After about 3 times, she was finally able to walk on her own. She still had a limp but she could move freely.

"You look like a freshly born baby deer." Clint joked, looking back for a second to see her progress.

"They're called fawns. And shouldn't you be paying attention to where your flying us and not worry about me?" Becca retorted back.

"We're coming up on New York, children." Natasha sassed back at the two while Steve watched on amused at the trio. He was quickly understanding their dynamic.

"What the holy hell is that?"

At Clint's low biting words, the four looked out the front of the jet, setting a blue beam of light shooting out of the Stark Tower and into the sky. It wasn't that simple thought. They couldn't tell from far away what exactly they were, but creatures were flying out of the hole where the light exploded.

"He was right." Steve announced, giving Tony the credit he thought he never would, but ultimately glad he was wrong in some aspects.

"Stark, we're on your 3 headed northeast." Natasha spoke through the comms.

"What? Did you stop for drive-thru?" Tony answered back. The sarcasm truly a Stark trait in the family. "Swing up Park. I'm going to lay them out for you."

They watched the Iron Man suit zip by from their spot between the buildings. The next second, they were blasting the alien creatures that followed. At the tight turn to continue shooting, Becca felt herself falling over. She was losing her center of gravity with her numb leg. Steve found his arm around her again to keep her steady before helping her back to her seat.

"Just sit 'til we're landed." He helped her buckle in. "Don't want you to waste your energy before the real fight."

She only nodded, yelling at herself once again for the nuisance she had become.

"Nat?" Clint had flown up to the tower now.

"I see him." Natasha responded. Thor and Loki were battling on the top deck of the tower. As they turned to start shooting, Loki must have noticed as well. Using his scepter, he easily shot back, taking out their left engine in the process.

Clint tried to stabilize them the best he could, but the jet started swirling around in a circle as they plummeted to the city beneath them. Becca was holding on to her seat ever so tightly while Steve was hanging on to the polls on the ceiling, feet in the air.

The pilot was good though. Clint was able to make way of civilians and crash to a landing in a courtyard right outside of a building. With a quick unbuckling and gathering the last of their gear, they ran out of the jet, officially in the middle of the destruction.

"We need to get back up there." Steve commanded, taking off with shield in hand.

Becca followed behind the three. At first she was more focused on understanding how to start running with her leg, but then everything else was taking over her senses. She heard the sirens of police and scream from civilians. Cars, poles, buildings destroyed and on fire surrounding them. She couldn't help but watch the faces of people that were running by. Terror and pain written across them after being attacked by things that were unknown to them.

As the group came to the end of the bridge of Park Ave. they stopped a few yards away from Grand Central Station and looked up. Truly taking in what was above them.

Becca thought she was honestly going to be sick to her stomach as she stared up at what was once part of the blue sky, now a massive hole in the atmosphere. It was dark and it looked like she was staring at the deepest part of the galaxy right above her head. Right in the center of New York City. It brought a chill straight to her bones.

There was, what she guessed were aliens, coming out of the portal. Flying straight down and attacking people of the city. But as she kept staring up, trying to wrap her mind around what was happening, something unworldly traveled through the hole. It was big. Bigger than anything she had ever seen. And it was alive. This extraterrestrial monster was the size of a building; in width and in length. It's mouth snapping in the essences of an alligator, while it had what appeared to be wings of some sort and capping it off with a bone like spine.

There was no real way to focus on how to process what was happening above her and all around her. Aliens were entering their world, and not in a way people expected with a UFO sighting. No, an army from a different world was here. And they were here to control and kill.

This large creature came down to them, flying over the heads of Natasha, Clint, Steve, and herself. And they couldn't move. All they could do was stare up, taking it in to the best of their abilities. Something none of them were trained for or ever expected to come face to face with. As it passed, more alien creatures shot off from the monster, swinging onto the buildings on either side of them.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked through the comms, his voice seemingly unwavered but anyone could tell the difference by seeing the wide eyes under the helmet.

"Seeing...still working on believing." Tony answered, his voice tight with wonderment as well. "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?" Steve questioned, looking around at the other three who held their own confusement.

"Just keep me posted."

That's when Becca heard the sound of a young child screaming. The noise was drawing her to the direction immediately.

"Bex!" Steve yelled at seeing her wandering off.

"We have to do a sweep." She stopped walking against her instinct to look back at her group. "We have to get the civilians off the bridge."

The soldier agreed and looked in each direction. "Everyone sweep and meet back." The four split off in their own direction.

Becca returned to her original task at hand. She followed the cry to a car that had been t-boned by a taxi from what she was sure in complete chaos. She saw the child then. It was a young girl, no older than 7 in the backseat, passenger side. Her dark curly hair was flying about her head with tears streaming down her face.

"Shh, hey sweety, you okay?" Becca tried to compose the girl through the open window. All she did through is look at Becca with tears still falling. "Are you hurt?"

"Mama." The little girl pointed at the front of the car.

That's when she noticed the woman slumped over the steering wheel. The agent paused for a split second at the sight before keeping herself cool in front of the child. "What's your name, sweety?"

"A-Aaliyah."

"Well that's a very pretty name. Aaliyah, I'm going to take care of your mama. Do you think you can do something for me?" Becca saw a plush bunny that had fallen on the floor out of the girl's grip.

"Mhmm." Aaliyah mumbled, watching the stranger open the door.

Becca squatted down to pick up the toy and hand it back to the girl. "I want you to hold on to your bunny super, duper tight, okay? Because he looks scared and needs a big girl like you to take care of him."

She sniffled, doing as she was told. "I can do that."

"Good girl! Now just close your eyes and hug your bunny really tight. You want to sing a song together?" The little girl nodded and closed her eyes. Becca began to sing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and Aaliyah joined in. She started moving around the car, still singing, to get to the women. Luckily the taxi had  _just_  missed the driver's side door and Becca was able to yank the door open. It looked like the woman hit her head off the steering wheel from the blood seeping from her hairline.

"You're doing amazing, Aaliyah. Keep it up!" At the sound of the child singing, Becca began checking over the women, thanking everything that she was still breathing. She started shaking the woman and calling out to her to wake up. It was all against procedure, but she needed to get them out ASAP since there was no medical around and another explosion happening above them. After a few more shakes, Becca started seeing her eyelids move. "Ma'am, can you hear me? We have to get you out of here."

After just a few more seconds the mother opened her eyes. At seeing Becca she seemed very confused and then panic began to travel through her body. "Oh my god! My baby!" The women kept repeating the mantra over and over as Becca tried to calm her down.

"You're okay. You daughter is great. Look, Aaliyah is right there still." She pointed to the daughter, the mother calming down slightly at the sight. "I need you to get your daughter and get off the bridge."

The mother did as she as told, getting out of the car on shaky legs and getting her daughter. Becca watched as the small family ran off the bridge and out of harm's way. The agent finished her search before making her way back to the other's, seeing that she was the last one to arrive.

"You good?" Steve asked as she came to a squat behind Clint as the four hid behind a taxi.

"For the most part."

"We've got civilians still trapped up here." Clint explained.

At those words, a gang of flying creatures went by above them, shooting everything everything on the road below them.

"Loki." Steve explained, seeing the leader of the pack. "They're fish in a barrel down there."

A few of the aliens have noticed them now, landing on the bridge to corner them. They blasted the four, getting them to duck, before Natasha and Becca took it upon themselves to start firing back, Becca following Clint to the next taxi to get closer.

"We got this." Natasha encouraged Steve. "It's good. Go."

"Do you think you can hold them of?" He asked, ready for an escape but apprehensive on how to leave.

"Captain," Clint smirked, clicking buttons on his bow to get it ready, "it would be my genuine pleasure." With that, he launched the arrow at the creature, taking it out and three others with it.

Natasha and Becca followed, taking shots at more while Steve took the opportunity to get out.

"Bex, there are more people in the bus!" Barton explained, the two still next to each other fighting.

"I'll cover you." She followed him backwards, shooting anything that came close, while Romanoff kept up with the full coverage. The people piled out of the windows and the two were finally able to pull the door open together from where it was stuck.

Once all the civilians were freed, they each took a side next to Natasha. Team Delta shooting at anything that deemed a threat.

"Just like Budapest all over again!" Natasha yelled, shots taking two down in a row.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently." Clint commented back with a raised eyebrow.

Becca shot down one of the flying aliens just in time for it to crash into three more on the ground. "I don't recall aliens from another world trying to filet us alive."

"Technicalities."

Becca ducked just in time as she noticed more coming in behind them. She jumped over to another taxi, launching the last of her bullets in to the creatures. With no time to reload properly, Bex pulled out the bayonet that ran along the side of her thigh. It was the longest and widest knife she had, and would hopefully do just the job of slicing through these creatures.

With the weapon in one hand and her dagger in the other, she pulled herself up and started attacking. The dagger was good to get a grip on them while the bayonet worked well to kill. They weren't that easy to go down though, and also doubled her weight, but she kept going because their lives depended on it. Clint and Natasha had also gone to hand to hand combat seeing that they were being surrounded and quickly out numbered. There wasn't much though in her movements, just letting her body fight the way it was trained.

The Captain had found his way back to them, taking out more with a bash from his shield. Becca had just finished chopping through one as three more jumped down to surround her. She took a deep breath, gathering herself to keep going as bolts of lightning shot down around her, electrifying the aliens to death. She watched with wide eyes as Thor descended down after, uneasily standing on his feet. Becca grabbed a hold of his forearm, helping him stand, but probably not doing much.

"You hurt?" She asked worriedly, as if the fight she just had never happen. Ultimately she was just glad to see him in one piece after their last encounter. He as well to her.

"It's no matter." He nodded down at her as a thank you for the help. "I told you I'd come find you, Lady Bex."

She smiled up at him, still in awe of the god.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve fixed the shield against his arm as he came to stand by them, Clint and Natasha following.

"The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable." Thor explained.

"Thor's right." Tony commented, still flying through the sky somewhere. "We got to deal with these guys."

"And what are these guys?" Becca watched them soaring about.

"It's the Chitauri and Leviathans. It's Loki's army." The god related.

Natasha grimaced as it seemed like the ambush was never ending. "How do we do this?"

"As a team." Steve announced, the leader in him fully stepping forward.

Thor's stance was getting wider at what he thought was the sight of his brother in the far off distance. "I have unfinished business with Loki."

"Yeah? Well get in line." Clint finally spoke up from where he was changing his arrowheads.

"Save it." Steve walked forward, eyes mapping out the plan in his head. "Loki's going to keep this fight focused on us, and that's what we need. Without him, these things could run wild. We got Stark up top." He pointed to the tower. "He's going to need us to-"

The sound of an engine rumbling behind him cut Steve off. As they all took a look, they were slightly surprised to see on old school motorcycle with none other than Bruce driving it.

"So," the doctor shrugged as he got off the bike and the group emerged together, "this all seems horrible." Despite the wreckage around them, Bruce himself looked like he had already went through his own bout of hell.

"I've seen worse." Natasha stared him down, remembering their circumstance not to long ago.

"Sorry." His tone sincere.

"No, we could use a little worse."

"He dad," becca held her comm, "he's here."

"Banner?" Her father came back on the line.

"Somehow, just like you said."

"You should really stop being surprised by my intuition, honey." His words got an eye roll from her. "Tell him to suit up. I'm bring the party to you."

In the distance, the six watched him fly around the corner down Park Ave. But he wasn't alone.

"I-I don't see how that's a party." Natasha stuttered as another one of the Leviathans followed after him. It was like a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, only bigger and terrifying and deadly. Bruce started to walk towards it, getting glances all around.

"Dr. Banner," Steve called out to him before he got to far, "now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret, Captain." Bruce smirked back at him, but kept walking. "I'm always angry. And as the creature came face to face, Bruce instantly turned in to the Hulk. He punched the face of it into the ground, gradually bring it to a stop from force, but the body started to flip over it self to come straight towards the rest of them.

"Hold on!" Tony yelled, flying back around to shoot straight at the center of the monster. Pieces came flying off and before they knew it, the inside started to explode from the shot. Becca had barely any time to react as Thor was grabbing a hold of her and using his own body to protect her since he could withstand the explosion.

They looked up as the heat diminished, watching the giant fall to its death off the bridge. The seven stood backs to each other in a circle, Becca finding herself between Thor and Clint, as the Chitauri cried from their places stationed on buildings surrounding them. It was like they were waiting for their next instructions. Becca took it as her time to reload her weapons and prepare for what was next.

"Guys." Natasha grabbed their attention to where her eyes were locked. More of the army had started filing out of the portal. It seemed to be endless.

"Call it, Captain." Tony relinquished his orders as he was finally on the ground with the rest of them.

"All right, listen up." Steve stepped forward. "Until we can close that portal, our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof. Eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays." He pointed out to Clint, before turning next to Tony. "Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."

"Can you give me a lift?" Barton looked at the former.

"Right. Better clench up, Legolas." The older Stark took a hold of his quiver before flying the two through the air.

"Thor," the Captain continued, "you got to try and bottleneck that portal. Slow 'em down. You got the lightning. Light the bastards up." Thor nodded before spinning his hammer around, using the momentum to fly through the air. "Bex, Romanoff, you bother are with me on the ground. We keep the fighting here. And Hulk," He gained the attention of the large giant, "smash."

Hulk gave a dark smile before jumping halfway up the building to start taking one Chitauri out after another.

"We've got to be smart about this." Steve's focus on the two women now. "Bex, I want you to work in close quarters. Slash anything to bits. Romanoff, you have the movement. Work in a circle around, don't stop to be a target."

They each nodded, coming to terms with switching out their usual job. Natasha was usually the one in the middle, while Becca was the mover. It's why her code name was Lith anyways. She was quick on her movements, but with the injury she had limited resources.

"I'll take our perimeter." Steve continued. "We good?"

"Aye Aye, Captain." Becca saluted, knowing full well how it would affect she was surprised by the small smirk that formed. Oh yeah, he was warming up to her again.

* * *

Rebecca Maria Stark was a spy. She was trained as a spy first, assassin second. War was never on the schedule. Aliens certainly weren't either. She was surprised to say humans were easier to deal with. When fighting humans, they were trying to win but also stay alive. The Chitauri were very different. It was like a suicide mission for them just to hurt their opponent.

But Becca kept fighting.

She threw her knife through the throat of one a second before she was spinning on her toes to slash through another that was coming up behind her. The throbbing in her leg was starting, but was also combating over injuries that were just being presented.

"Widow, duck!" Becca ran forward as Natasha did as she was told. Becca jumped over her body, tackling the Chitauri that was right behind her. The second it's back hit the floor, she stabbed the chest, killing it for good.

The two kept fighting together, finding themselves back to back at one point. Natasha held the Chitauri's staff while she had her bayonet back out. Becca felt her tense up, but turned around to only see Steve had made his way back to them, holding his shield up from Natasha's quick thinking.

The three settled for a second at the lull surrounding them. Heavy breathing and tired limbs. Natasha leaned against a taxi while Becca braced her hands down on her knees. They were tired. The two agents were in top physical shape, but not for something like this. The lack of sleep and just overall exhaustion was starting to catch up to them. And Steve could see it.

"Captain, none of this is going to mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." Natasha spoke the truth. The three looked up seeing more and more aliens flying down.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it." His voice deep.

"Well, maybe it's not about guns."

Becca rose an eyebrow knowing that tone very well. Before she could comment a group more of them were dropped down to try to kill them.

Steve had noticed the tone as well. "If you want to get up there you're going to need a ride."

She dropped the staff, backing up as her eyes focused on the alens flying by. "I got a ride. I could use a boost though."

"Hey Tasha," Becca called out, using the broken cement to help sharpen her dulling blades, "don't die."

"You can't get rid of me that easy, Bec." The red head smirked at her teammate.

Steve however was cautious of the plan. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, it's going to be fun." With that, she ran forward, taking a step on the hood of a car before jumping on the shield. Steve pushed her up and the two watched as Natasha grabbed a hold of the carrier and took off. They didn't watch for that much longer as the Chitauri that had landed sent a blast their way.

"That's it!" Becca yelled, dropping her knife and picking up the two guns at her waist. She shot double time at each of them, taking several out before the cartridges were empty. "I'm out." She sunk to the ground behind the car, throwing the guns away from her.

"You're out of ammo?" Steve sunk to a squat in front of her, both of them hidden.

She nodded pulling out two more knives, slowly running out of those as well. "I'm down to knives and some grenades."

Another shot blasted above them. Steve jumped up and threw his shield, knowing them out before it came back to him to grab. He took his previous position, watching her prepare again very closely. "You ready to keep going."

She gave him a bright smile, even though it was bloody from the split lip. "Absolutely."

The duo fought back to back, each quickly picking up where the other left off. It was surprising how well their combination worked together. Becca's fighting style was quick, using precise moves to weaken her opponents, while Steve had strength and force knowing if he hit someone they were staying down for the count. Tony had even come into play at one point, using his blasts to give them a five second rest before continuing on. The war continued, there was still no end in sight.

* * *

Battling by yourself was the true test of how far you took your life. Steve had ran off to help a bank full of civilians and the others were still fighting their own battles around the city. Becca was left alone on the bridge with only her knives and pure will to live.

Becca sliced through another Chitauri, but had no time to regroup as another creature was on her back. It took its staff and tried to pierce her with the blade. Becca was able to grab a hold of the pole, pushing it away from her but wasn't strong enough to completely push him away from her. The pole was being pressed across her neck, making the girl stumble backwards until she was struggling over the bridge wall. The only thing keeping her from falling head first to the concrete below was her feet grounding tightly against the wall. It was a war between them on who could push the other away. She wasn't winning though, and it was hard for her to find a way out.

"Bex, drop your head!"

She heard Steve's voice through her ear but also right below her. Becca did as she was told, letting her upper body hang upside down seeing the Captain below. With the clear shot, he threw his shield up, knocking the Chitauri off Becca, before it came back to him. She took advantage of the weapon it had released from its grip on impact and jumped back up to stab it straight in the chest. That finally sent the alien down.

"You good?" He called up to her.

She took several deep breaths before answering. "For the moment." Then her eyes landed on the mob that was stalking towards her. There was no way she would be able to hand combat each one of them and make it out alive. Her hand made contact with the grenade attached to her hip. "Hey Cap, get ready to catch."

"Catch what?"

Becca unhooked the grenade from her belt, waiting for the perfect time to throw. She pulled the pin out and sent it flying into the crowd. "Me!" She yelled, turning on her heel and launching herself over the bridge wall. She tucked her limbs close to her body like she was taught in gymnastics and prayed the super soldier caught her before her body became broken on the pavement below. Flying through the air suddenly stopped as she landed securely in the arms of her target.

"Thanks, Cap." She smiled at him. It was pained because of the bruises and cuts littering her body but it was still sincere.

At the sound of the explosion going off over head, Steve crouched down, covering her from any debris and the shield on his back protecting them. Their heads were tucked into each other's necks. Becca's hand pulling his head closer to try to protect him the best she could. Once the debri finally stopped showering down around them, the two unfolded from each other.

"You're lucky I'm a good catch." He mumbled, setting her down.

The sentence caught her off guard, knowing he didn't mean in the relationship way, but she was going to play off of it. "Take a girl out for dinner first, Captain." Becca joked, an eyebrow raised in amusement.

He gave her a confused look, until it sunk in what he said and the blush rose. This time there was no hiding it as his helmet was missing. "You know what I meant."

Even in the wreckage, she laughed out loud. Becca unraveled herself from his grip, starting to walk away to keep going when her leg gave out. "Damnit!"

Steve held her in record speed. "Your leg?"

"I think the shot is wearing off." The pain starting to travel through her body. The most recent fighting clearly doing a number on her injury.

Steve looked around to make sure they weren't being cornered before dragging her to the nearest car. "Just stay here, okay?"

She pushed off the trunk, trying to fight him against it. "I'm fine. I-"

"Rebecca!" He cut her off, pushing her waist to lean back. The intensity in his voice with saying her full name took her back. "You've done your part. Just stay here." His eyes dug deep into her own. He had been worried enough about her the entire time, that now it would escalate. If she pushed herself more and get killed because of it he would never forgive himself for it. "You have your knives if any come near you, but just stay here."

His tone was giving her flashbacks of her first mission with him around, the pure anxious and fear tones that he held for her life pouring off of him. It made her chest burn. "Okay, I'll stay here." She never had someone be so adamant about her survival in this way. Obviously her father didn't want her hurt, and that was the same for her teammates, but people usually let her keep going. This was different.

Steve's shoulders dropped in relief. "Scream for me and I'll be here in an instant."

Becca only nodded and watched him look over her for another moment before running back into battle. She rested against the car, watching every which way in case of an straggler. The sound of a mighty explosion took her attention from above. She looked up to see the top of a building up in flames. The very building Clint was just standing on.

"Barton!" She yelled through her comm, anxiety in her voice. "You better not be a barbeque?"

It took a second but a groan came through, easing her worry. "Why am I always the one to fly through windows?" His voice was gravely, clearing in pain but alive.

"Just lucky, I guess."

What wasn't lucky was the one alien that was trying to sneak up on her. She simply pulled out one of her throwing stars and launched it at him, taking him down with ease. And she was beyond happy about that because she was too tired to move.

"I can close it." Natasha called through the comms out of the blue. "Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down."

"Do it!" Steve quickly responded, the answer that everyone wanted was right there.

"No, wait." Tony broke the stream.

"Stark, these things are still coming."

"I got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute." The statement took everyone who was just off the edge back on it. Someone had sent a nuke to destroy the island and everyone on it. "And I know just where to put it."

"Stark, you know that's a one way trip?" Steve's voice sullen.

Becca was hearing the words but they just weren't caputing. He was putting himself, once against in incredible danger with this mission of sending it to the portal. "Dad. Don't you dare."

"Bec-"

"No! Not this time!" She yelled, watching as he came back down Park Avenue, this time however putting a nuclear missile on his back.

"I love you." His voice was low but sincere. It's all he could say. It's all that needed to be said.

Her throat was closing up, feeling a led weight in her stomach. "I love you too." She watched as he made the turn, taking it vertical up the tower to the portal. "Now send it up and let it go!" She pleaded but he just kept going. "LET IT GO!" Her throat raw as she screamed, watching him now go into the portal so very high above them.

"B-bec-" His voice crackled, the connection becoming fuzzy.

"Dad!" Her voice squeaked, trying to keep it together but ultimately losing control. "Come back, please, I need you."

There was no response this time. Nothing from the other end. All she could do is watch the opening, praying for him to pop back out as tears slowly leaked from the corner of her eyes. Then all of the sudden all the aliens, Chitauri and Leviathans, just shut down. Falling out of the sky and becoming useless. Clearly the nuke had made target, but at what price of Tony.

She didn't know how long she waited, but she kept watching, refusing to miss something. Anything. She desperately needed a sign.

"Close it."

That was not it.

"No!" She howled again at Steve's order. But it didn't matter how much she yelled, screamed, or cried. Natasha had closed it, the beam shutting down and the portal closing back to the regular sky.

Becca felt numb. Her physical pain evaporating at the thought of her father left to die in space.

But then there was a glimmer. It was dark and it was falling from the sky fast. He had made it. Tony had made it through, but he wasn't flying. He was dropping at full speed. Just as he was skimming the height of the buildings, Hulk had grabbed him. The Hulk used the momentum of his body to crash down on the bridge.

Becca had never run so fast and hard in her life. All she could hear was her breathing and the blood pumping in her ears. Every pain in her body was gone because she needed to get to her father. She found Steve and Hulk kneeling on either side of him with Thor standing over Steve.

"Is he breathing?" She asked, skidding on her knees next to Steve. Tony's face plate had been ripped off and he was simply lying there with his eyes closed. "Dad? Dad, please wake up."

The situation so eerily similar to the one she had with that little girl when they had first got here. Becca was Aaliyah and she needed to hold tight for hope. The younger Stark held in her tears, her eyes closed tight, and her hand gripping the iron suit as if it was her plush bunny. "Please." Her voice a whisper.

Becca nearly screamed as Hulk growled, making her jump in fright. But she wasn't the only one. Tony awoke with a start, breathing heavy and eyes wide.

"What the hell?" His eyes scrambled all over, finally landing on his daughter. "Bec? What happened?"

"You made it." She sighed in relief.

"Please tell me nobody kissed me." Near death and Tony still has jokes.

Steve sat back, letting it sink in. "We won."

"Alright, yay!" Tony sighed, letting the moment come with ease. "Alright, good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma?" Becca laughed, a true smile coming over her face. One she almost thought she'd never do again. "There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it."

"We're not finished yet." Thor explained, letting him down easy.

And after a beat, "And then shawarma after."

* * *

Up Next: The aftershocks of the battle

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**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR (FANGEDLOVERS) FOR MY REBECCA!**


	18. I Wanna Be There

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

I Wanna Be There - Blessid Union of Souls

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

This is a very emotional chapter overall so please read at your own pace. But I love this chapter and how the relationships have tied together to get here.

Also I just rewatched the first season of Agents of SHIELD for the first time probably since it came out, and it truly shaped where Becca will be heading forward and I'm very excited to for you to see her progression in the organization.

* * *

****

**I Wanna Be There**

_Cause you got so much to give_  
But you throw it all away  
And all you got to show for who you are is pain  
And I've got so much to give  
If you'd only let me in  
I'm gonna take the time to show you I'm a friend  
You'll believe in love again

Becca's eyes opened wide, her breath coming in and out with short bursts. Her heart was pounding against her chest and in her ears, almost, just almost blocking out the noise that woke her in the first place. But she could still hear it. She took in her surroundings, unusual at first but starting to put all the pieces back together. She was in the room Tony had designed for her in the Tower and by the clock on the wall she had either slept 24 hours or possibly more.

After the battle, the Avengers had taken Loki to a holding cell at SHIELD, this time with shackles and a muzzle, with no way for him to be sent free unless it as one of them of Fury to do the freeing. They weren't going to play that game again. The guards understanding that thoroughly with the threat of the Hulk beating their heads in from Natasha. The redhead alone was terrifying and the mention of the big guy, that was the cherry on top.

They had moved Eric Selvig as well, the man a mumbling mess at that point and no one discouraging it. He was handed off to the doctors almost immediately with the hope of helping his mental health process. That healing process was quickly turned on the team as well. Doctors swarming the seven on Fury's order, each taken for a checkup. That's when things began to go fuzzy for Becca. They had given her a strong dose of pain medication for her leg and other injuries. At some point, Tony had convinced, or rather told her he was taking her back to the tower. And now walking up there.

The loud bang that woke her happened again, the fear of what was happening on the other side of the door bubbling in her stomach. Her hand out of instinct tried to grab a knife but none were on her or close by. She pulled her body finally into a sitting position with much struggle. Becca pushed through the pain and exhaustion to stumble to her suit and gear lying on the chair next to her bed. Pulling out the one clean knife she had left, Becca limped to the door. The door easily pulled away from the frame and allowed the spy to hesitantly look around, knife poised at her side. Even with the limp, she had managed to get to the end of the hallway soundlessly. Her body deflated in ease at the sight in the kitchen, the man walking back and forth from the counter to the stove to the fridge. His movements halting at seeing the girl peeking around the corner.

"Hey kid." Rhodey smiled softly at the sight of his niece in one piece.

Becca nearly broke down right there. She held it together enough to limp her way to him, the knife clattering on the countertop before falling in her uncle's arms. He held her tightly, feeling her body give out from exhaustion.

"When'd you get here?" Her voice hoarse from using it for the first time in a longtime.

"Yesterday. Your dad called for backup, but it seemed like I missed the fight." Rhodey gently pulled back, but still kept a hold of her shoulders to get a good look at her. There were cuts and bruises still littering her body that even her shower the previous day couldn't wipe away. But the sore spot was the giant white ace bandage securely wrapped around her thigh. "Are you okay, Bec?"

Was she okay? That was such a loaded question. She hadn't had time yet to make sense of the events that had played out the past several days. Her body simply shut off once the fighting was done and the proper orders were put in place. Now she was standing in the aftermath, literally.

"Check back with me in a few."

He nodded, giving her a kiss on the forehead before helping her to take a seat at the counter. She took time to look around to see the damage. There wasn't much thankfully in this part of the apartment, but she was sure a level down where much of the fight took place was a different story.

"Where's my dad?" She took a deep drink from the water battle that was placed in front of her.

"He went to take care of a few things with Pepper and Happy."

She perked up significantly at the names. Everyone was there, her whole family. Their ears must have been ringing, because not long after the elevator opened and loud talking echoed off the walls.

"What can I say, you're right."

"Boy, if only JARVIS was recording at that second to have that on replay forever." Tony's voice was light at the comment, as he walked towards the two with Pepper and Happy on his heels. The trio stopped at seeing the two set up in the kitchen. "You're awake." Tony smiled at his daughter.

Before anything else could be said, Pepper was rushing over and pulling the daughter to her. The warmth enveloped Becca immediately, the older women's rich perfume swelling through her nose that she recognized with safety over the many years now. The brunette dug her face into the other's shoulder as her eyes were again welled up with tears. She wasn't even sure why she was crying at this point. Just overly emotional from exhaustion.

"I was so worried, so worried about you." Pepper's strong grip not letting go. Say what you wanted, look at the birth certificate, but Pepper Potts was her mother and she had been since day one. "I'm never letting you two out of my sight again."

"Exaggeration." Tony commented, setting some items down on the counter. Obviously playing off the whole event.

"I'm okay, Pep." Becca slowly untangled herself.

"You know I love you," the women smoothed down her wavy hair, looking over her face for pain, "but I hate your job."

She sniffed, a small smile falling on her lips. "Duly noted."

Pepper gave her one last squeeze before pulling herself together to get back to the task at hand. "You making dinner?" She asked the Colonel.

"Trying to if I stop getting sidetracked." Rhodey nearly slapped Tony with the poon from stealing veggies off the cutting board. It was honestly like watching children and they were when they were in an easy environment.

Happy rolled his eyes at the two before taking his turn to approach Becca with a kiss on the cheek. "Good to see you, kid."

"You too, Hap." She squeezed his arm in love.

"Picked up your stuff from SHIELD." Tony pushed the bundle of items across the counter to her. His voice was soft at the mention of the organization, trying to gauge her reaction.

'Thanks." Becca whispered, fingers trapped in the denim of her clothes to bring them closer. Her phone sat on the top, blinking to notify her of missed texts and calls. The second she turned the screen on she would have to be pulled back, and she hadn't even looked out her own windows yet.

She did however take notice to her father's actions. He was the best at pushing his problems away and pretending everything was okay. But she could see the tired and bloodshot eyes along with stress still held in his shoulders. He had all but surrendered himself for the greater good and that was something that would have to be addressed eventually. But as she watched her family interact, the dread that still sat inside her was calmed. That was until a person who had done something so very similar to Tony was out there and she had no idea where he was.

"Where is everyone else?"

Her voice was louder than it had been yet, taking the four adults by surprise. But the question was directed towards her father since he's the only one to know that answer.

"I believe everyone was staying at the office the last I heard." He came to rest on the counter across from her. "They were taking up some rooms there."

She nodded, chipping at her nails that were destroyed from the battle. "And…outside?"

Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy were trying to keep themselves busy to give the father and daughter their space, but the cloud was over all of them. They had watched the events unfold, but the two Starks were in the legit middle of it.

"Clean up is starting." Tony said matter of factly.

"Damage Control?" Becca asked, wondering if SHIELD was on top of it.

"For the moment. I'm looking to take it over."

"Meaning?" She rose an eyebrow at him.

He rolled his shoulders letting the pressure off them. "Meaning to buy it out."

"With the help of the government." Rhodey spoke up now, this was his involvement now too.

"How's that going?" She asked the two.

"It's a process." Tony explained. "If SHIELD is still going to be quiet about the organization, we need to get the Damage Control out so that it will be able to help easier and faster."

It made sense. And it gave SHIELD some leeway.

"There is something else though." The elder Stark's voice uneasy this time as he pulled out a rolled-up newspaper.

Becca cautiously took the offering and unrolled her fate. The front page was splashes of the battle. The portal open in the sky, Chitauri and more. But what truly struck her eyes was the obvious image of her father as Iron Man, but then her own face next to it with the caption 'Superhero Runs in the Family'.

"Nothing has been confirmed or denied yet." Pepper's CEO voice taking over." We're keeping the press at bay."

It was official. The thing that Nick Fury and herself had been working against and preparing for was finally here. This was it. The world was a step away from knowing the new Rebecca 'Lithe' Stark.

"How do you want to handle this?"

Her hazel eyes left the page to see everyone staring at her now. She would say that she no longer was able to be told what to do in a situation as a kid, but she has honestly always been in control of her own life and choices.

"I have to talk to my Director." She explained to all of them. "We've been working on what to do in this situation and I have to be smart about it." Becca pushed the newspaper away, no longer able to look at it. "I've been a spy for the past four years, so when my identity gets revealed, I'm likely to have a lot of enemies on my back waiting to hunt me down."

"Well, that's not going to happen-"

"-But it might." She cut off her father. "I've got enemies too. I've done some questionable things to get my job done when I needed to. The difference is I've been more secluded about it."

* * *

The chilled air-condition was almost a blessing as she walked through the doors of SHIELD. Guards were placed at each door and the overall feel was anxiety. Everyone in the vicinity was on edge, as if they were waiting for the next shoe to drop. She honestly was the same ever since she stepped foot outside only a few minutes ago. Happy had drove, assisting that was the safest for herself and she barely had a choice in the matter. That and a bum leg, she was slightly out of options.

Becca stopped off at the medic floor first to check out said injury before heading up to her own office. They changed the bandage and gave her a bottle of pain medication that she should be taking. They said all-in-all it wasn't to badly damaged, but she was officially on medical leave for the time being. She honestly couldn't tell if it was from her physical or mental state at the moment.

She wasn't surprised to find the office already occupied upon entering, and was almost hoping to find someone there. Especially for it to be Clint. She stayed quiet upon seeing he was talking on the phone, but he did however give her a smile in greeting as she took her spot at her own desk.

"I swear Laur, I'm fine. Everyone is just fine." Clint spoke, sounding like this had been the same thing he has been saying for quite awhile now from the sigh that followed. "Nat and Becca are fine...why don't believe me?"

The latter of said girls giggled as the phone was directed in her direction now, with a pleading look from Clint. "We're doing good, Laura!" Becca said loud enough for the woman on the line to hear, but no one outside of the office to question.

"See, just like I said."

He returned to the phone call, while Becca began sorting the papers on her desk. It was a mess of things that she hadn't looked at since the night before everything had happen. Oh how she in some way wished it would return back to before that. Before their entire world got turned upside down.

"I'll see you soon. I love you." Clint finished the call and let the phone drop to his desk. Arms coming to rest on the top of it, crossed against his chest. He looked over at his partner, seeing her fumbling through the items. "You're a mess."

"You're one to talk." She continued to organize, not looking at him. "You left crap everywhere before you left for New Mexico, ya know? I cleaned up your shit...you're welcome."

"Oh, is that why I couldn't find anything." He joked back, but could see the tension she was holding in her shoulders. "You get some rest?"

She looked up at him with a nod, before setting some papers in the bin that needed to be shredded. "I guess I first slept for like 24 hours and last night I was constantly waking up with every little noise. Things are just randomly falling off the tower. Like it's settling."

Clint shook his head, eyebrows nearly in his hairline. "I can't believe you're actually staying at the place of the battle. That's some kind of insane, even for you Bec."

"If it means I get to be near my father than I'll deal with it." She shrugged, knowing it was stockholm like. But being away from her father right now just didn't feel right for her. And the thought of being alone in her apartment after it all was almost suffocating. She needed to be with her family, which made her think of his conversation. "You going home soon?"

"Yeah." He cleared his throat, his conversation with his wife on his mind and also the one he had with Fury the day before. "I'll be officially going on leave for awhile."

Becca, being the emotional reader of the group, heard the hiccup in his voice immediately. "This is more than just few months, isn't it?" He stayed silent at her question, eyes not looking up from the metal he was resting on. "Clint? What happen?"

"You know very well what happen, Bec." His voice was low. "Up close and personal."

In the years that she has known Clint, worked with him, been trained by him, she had never seen this look on his face. It was more than exhaustion, something deeper than that. Becca pulled herself from her own desk to move to his, sitting on the top next to his shoulder. Even though they were alone in the office, this seemed like something that needed close quarters. "Talk to me." Her voice a sweet whisper to lay over his overworked brain.

"I had a talk with Fury yesterday." He leaned back in the chair now but still didn't look at her. "It might've been the longest conversation I've ever had with the man. Coulson had been our C.O. for so long it was odd to be in a different chair for debriefing." The mention of their friend was a fog in the room.

"What did he have to say?"

"You want the plain and simple?"

"Always."

"I've got a target on my back from the World Council." Clint looked up at her this time, dead in the eye. "They're looking into what I did with Loki and who was in the target range-"

"-But you had no control! You were literally under mind control." Becca's anger flaring back through her body. "That is unbelievable!"

"Nothing's happening yet-"

"Yet. What about the next time you go on a mission and something out of your control happens? What then? They get to do whatever they please!"

"Bec," he rested a hand on her knee, "they are scared I could turn again, so Fury wants me out of the limelight of the events until they can move onto the next problem. It's just a precaution."

"Or next time the nuclear warhead could hit their intended target." Her once outburst turned back into a under her breath comment. But he heard it loud and clear.

Clint could still hear her desperate screams that ran through the comms when Tony sent the nuc through the portal. It was a type of terror that he had never heard in her voice before. And he understood both sides of that situation. He would have done the same thing Tony did to save his kids, but he also knew he wouldn't want them to see him do it. Becca had thought she lost her father in those few moments that seemed to last longer than they should have.

Even if the Avengers were thrown together only a few days prior, she was the one person that had the most emotional value riding in the group. Of course with Tony, but also with himself and Natasha who weren't just her teammates but so much more. Then there was Steve. He had absolutely no idea what that relationship was since he hadn't been around for it the past few months, but it was very easy to see that comradery and trust that had settled between the two. Thor and her had quickly linked together since it looked like they shared the same type of internal worth. While Bruce had been engaged by her for what she did best, her overall niceness. The fact that she didn't overact with him and who he was had him easily rounding in her corner.

Becca was the soul of the Avengers.

"Where's your head at?"

She contemplated the question for a second before just letting it out. "That I'm having a hard time right now trusting the people in charge." The words had been on the tip of her tongue for a while now, but this was the first time in the open. "I know I've had doubts in the past with my family and the secrets that were being kept, but now this is something very different."

"You think you want to leave?" Leave it to Clint to ask the hard question.

"No." It was true, but there was more than just that. "But things are going to have to change. Even if it's just with me. After everything that has happened and the unknown of where SHIELD was going before with the tesseract in play, I'm going to be pushing to get my higher clearance. And to find out where this organization is going."

"Good for you, kid."

"Is that crazy?"

Clint shook his head, a small grin actually on his face for the first time. "Not at all. Since the beginning I knew getting you involved and training, you would want more. And I was hoping we would have this discussion one day." He knew she had a different work ethic and mindset than many that have came into this organization before and after her. It was almost the main reason he trained her instead of sending her through the academy.

Becca was touched by his words. He has had her back since day one and she knew very well from experience not to question it. But having her back and telling her to go, almost infiltrate the system was new. It wasn't that she wanted to spy inside of SHIELD, she wanted to understand why her grandfather wanted her there and as what role.

"So," she cleared her throat and walked back to her own desk, trying to get back to the original topic, "when are you heading home?"

"Tomorrow." He gained his own strength again to keep up. "Thor is planning on taking Loki back to Asgard and...and Coulson's service is tonight."

Her movements stopped again, rigged at best. "Tonight?"

"I guess they already took care of the grave and what not. Fury thought it would be best if we all went tonight so we wouldn't be noticed."

She nodded, not really knowing what else to say. It had happen in front of her, but she had pushed the event down and away with the war that had happen. Now it was time to mourn and let their friend and mentor rest in peace.

* * *

It was almost appropriate that the group surrounded the grave at sunset. It was a beautiful grave sight, sitting in between two low hanging trees that made it look like something you would only see in a movie setting. And now with the sun spilling in between the trees, everything had a orange and red glow in the bright green area. Phil Coulson would have loved this spot.

No one said anything. They all just seemed to meet up around the same time and took their place in a semi-circle around the newly dug dirt. Becca, Clint, and Natasha were the first ones there and not long after Tony and Pepper, then followed Steve, Thor, and Bruce all together. Coulson didn't want a grand funeral, he never wanted anything overly publicized, the same way he lived his life. So for them, this was the perfect way to celebrate his life.

The stone was simple, military like. It read 'Phillip Coulson' with July 8, 1964 - May 4, 2012 written underneath it. Flowers had already been placed, beautiful and bright. The group stood there for who knew how long, each silently giving their respect.

Not wanting to break the silence, Natasha was the first one to step forward. It was few and far between to see the russian emotional or letting her emotions interfere with her day to to day life. She held her own flower. A single yellow rose. It was out of place against her entire black outfit. She knelt down, allowing her fingers to trace the engravings. If you weren't looking close enough you would miss the single tear that ran down her cheek.

But Clint did. He took that as his time to kneel next to her, his hand resting against the stone. His head sunk low, giving his due for the man who had his back from the beginning. It had all started with Coulson and Clint, than Natasha was brought in, and finally Becca. They had been Delta for so long, their own team. Now they were all going in their own directions. With an arm around Natasha's shoulders, Clint pulled the both of them up and back over to where all the cars were parked.

Bruce was next. He was awkward at best, but that seemed to be his overall persona. He stood in front with his hands clasped, his head down, eyes closed. Paying his respect. He had been surprisingly around Natasha the past few days more than he ever assumed from their first meeting. Like a revolving door, as he walked away Thor was next. This was obviously different than what he was use to when dealing with a death, he quickly understood that meaning. And he desperately wanted to give the respect and honor.

"You will be forever honored, Son of Coul." Thor's words the first one's spoken in the air. He squeezed Becca's shoulder before also going to the opposite group that was starting to form.

Becca barely felt his hand though. Her gaze hadn't left the plot since her arrival, and at seeing it there right in front of her, she had gone numb. Steve had been watching her though. At first just relieved to see her in one piece since the end of the battle. She had been on his mind constantly, wanting that normal comfort he found when he was with her, but didn't want to push their current up in the air situation. He instead seemed to find an almost friendship or same energy with Thor. And while his mind wanted to shut down and constantly battling with nightmares and more, the Asgardian did quite well at keeping his mind off of the bad.

Steve went next, paying his respects at standing above the stone. What no one did know was the trading cards that sat in his pocket that his fingers had been tracing. He wished he would have gotten to know the man so much more from all the stories Becca had told of him. Between that and the short time he was able to spend with him, it was easy to see that he was a good man that deserved more time than was given to him. Steve turned around, hoping to get Becca's eye, but they were still glazed over.

Tony and Pepper were next. Pepper knelt down, placing her own flowers next to the rest. A bouquet of daffodils resting against the brown and green earth. Tony helped her back up before wrapping his arm around her waist, the two leaning against each other. Pepper was crying and she wasn't afraid to show it. Coulson basically saved her so many years ago against Obadiah and was just there ever since. Same with Tony, he might of acted like Phil got on his nerves for always showing up when the problems started, but he deeply valued how the man seemed to always be on his side in the long run.

With one last goodbye, the couple gave way to the plot but didn't go as far as the rest had. They stayed only a few steps behind, now there main concern on the young girl who was left standing. What she didn't know was that everyone was keeping a careful eye on her.

Taking a few limp steps forward, Becca slowly lowered her body down to kneel in front of the headstone. She had the last of the flowers. A bouquet of daisies and forget-me-nots that she had been holding so tightly the stems had imprinted against her hand. The brunette delicately placed them in the aray of the rest. Then she simply sat there and stared. The smell of the dirt easily coming through her nose, while the sun shined in her eyes, and the wind slowly started to pick up bringing the warm spring day to a cold close.

And as all her senses ran together her eyes teared and her throat burned. She was trying so hard, so damn hard, to think of anything besides his final breath. There were so many memories to choose from but all she could feel was the grip he held on her hand right before. She knew she shouldn't but she couldn't stop it. It was only a few days ago. How could that haunting memory erase from her brain so quickly.

Each time she tried to take a deep breath, it got stuck in her throat and the tears were falling without her even trying. She didn't remember much for her grandparents funeral. She was so young and so naive. That had been the last time she had truly lost someone close to her. Sure there had been casualties in SHIELD, that was the job. But you don't think it's going to happen to anyone around you until your in the middle of it. She had thought she lost her father three times now in three different ways, but he always recovers and she is beyond thankful for that. But what if the next time he doesn't? Or what if the next time it was someone else on the line? Again, it was in the description of the job and that was that.

But now she mourned for Phil Coulson. The man that she didn't save.

"I'm so sorry." Her words were a mumbled mess. Becca's fingers now gripping deep into the soil, almost wishing it was a joke and he would walk around the tree. She would be mad, but she would be thankful. Yet that didn't happen and all she was left with was her own misery that she needed to piece back together. "I should have done better."

Someone had fallen down next to her as the crying had shaken her body. She could smell the familiar cologne of her father, but did nothing more than that. He was the one to wrap his arm around her body, pulling her tightly against him, trying to soothe his baby girl. Tony left gentle kisses against her temple in hopes to hush her tears.

"It's not your fault." He whispered for the father and daughter to only hear. "He adored you. Do you know that?" She only shrugged, wiping away at her nose, trying to pull herself together. "He did. He was very proud of you and loved you very much. That's what you should remember and hold on to."

Becca nodded this time, she knew that. But it was easier said than done. She gave herself a few more seconds before rubbing her face clean the best she could of tears. She wasn't the only one who lost him, and she felt selfish for taking their time away from him. Tony pulled the both of them back into a standing position before joining the group, Pepper a step behind.

"I will be returning to Asgard with Loki tomorrow." Thor explained to the group, deciding to break the awkward silence around them.

"We have a place designated for tomorrow." Natasha explained, arms back to being crossed over her chest. "It will be secured."

"I appreciate that."

"And the cube?" Bruce asked, a question that was on everyone's mind.

"I will be taking the Tesseract back with me, in exchange I have agreed to allow the scepter to remain here on earth in SHIELD's custody.

Clint snorted. "You think that to be a good idea after what has happen this time?"

Thor shook his head in a contemplation. "It was the deal I came to with Fury. Since Loki will not be here to pay for his actions, he needed to show the Council something in good faith of my actions."

"And who would be smart enough to put up a fight against a god." Tony smirked, knowing from personal experience.

"What time tomorrow?" Steve inquired, hands still deep in his pockets.

"Everything is set for 8." Natasha informed him.

The group agreed on meeting at that time the next morning before starting to split off their own way. The whole time Becca staying silent. Listening to the conversation, but not finding herself able to contribute. That was until she realized it was over and the one person she desperately wanted to talk to was starting to walk away. Before her mind caught up with what her body was doing, she was gently grabbing the brown leather jacket arm of the soldier.

Steve turned back to her with wide eyes, not expecting her to try to contact others yet. "Rebecca, you okay?"

Between the warm leather on her fingers and a worried glance from him, she was falling quickly back into herself. "I was going to ask you the same thing." Her fingers trailing down his arm until it was back at her own side. "Sorry I haven't been in contact with you-"

"-That's not something you have to apologize for."

She nodded, looking down at her shoes before glancing up. Something behind him taking her off guard. "Is that yours?"

Steve turned to see where she was pointing. There sat a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, looking brand new. "Yeah, I found out about it only a few days ago."

Becca rose an eyebrow at the words. "Where'd you get it?"

He hesitated for a second, not knowing how the next words would affect her. "Coulson had gotten it for me to use."

The words had her heart beating in her ears, and the rush of tears stinging the back of her eyes. He truly had done everything he could for Steve. With putting a uniform together, to the compass, and now this. Who knew what else he had worked on.

"He's still finding ways to surprise me." She coughed out, keeping the waterworks at bay for the moment. "You going back to your apartment?"

"Was planning on it." He took his keys out, the ringing find its way around his finger.

That's when she saw the spaceship she had given him back when they went to the NASA exhibit. He still had it and specifically put it on his keys. "Do want to come back to the tower?"

He was surprised by the question. "Really?"

"Yeah, I thought we could talk, or not talk, like always. We were going to do dinner and if you wanted to stay over, there's extra rooms." She had now started rambling, overly anxious. "Or you don't have to. It's completely up to you..."

He smirked at her dropping the end of the sentence off. "I'll be there."

* * *

It was just past midnight and Becca was going on her third shower of the day. This one was different though, because she hadn't been able to stop the crying since she stepped under the stream of water. In the bedroom, in the bathroom, in the shower stall she could sob out loud. A painful, chest squeezing cry that she was needing for days now.

After the gathering, Steve had ran back to his apartment to grab some things before making his way to the tower. She had waited in the garage downstairs for him to easily park his bike and then showed him what was left of the building, which there still was many good parts between the office spaces and the science departments. She took her time, stalling to get up to the apartment where her family was waiting.

She was trying to find a gage of how Steve and Tony were going communicate. This setting was out of the heavy commotion where they had met, so she was hoping the conversation would be more civil. And she was pleasantly surprised. The evening was enjoyable around the dinner table, Pepper and Rhodey always the talkers of the bunch. Especially now that they had a new face in the mix.

She was finally in a better headspace until she woke up in a thick coat of sweat, nightmares plaguing her sleep. Which led her to another shower. Where she was now letting everything she had been holding in out, a mess on the tile floor. The water was a steady hot beat on her back, reminding her that she was still alive and still breathing. At this point she was crying just because it felt better than anything else at the moment.

It had to have been close to an hour before the water officially was going cold and the sobs had turned to just water-filled eyes again. But when she turned that water off the silence filled the small room again. Filled her overactive brain. She toweled off, carefully fixing up her leg plus the other cuts and bruises that littered her body. More reminders of what had happen. The wounds would heal eventually and she hoped as they started to fade so would her mental wounds.

But after pulling on a pair of soft shorts and an oversized shirt, she desperately wanted to rip the clothes back off and sink back into the shower. She didn't though. She went about her routine. Brushing her hair and teeth, moisturizing her skin, and rubbing chapstick on her busted lips. All the while not able to look at herself in the mirror.

If she couldn't even look at herself in the mirror, maybe she wasn't as strong as she thought she was.

She took one last deep breath of the humid air that surrounded her before opening the bathroom door, allowing the cold from the air condition to swirl in with her. Becca barely made it through the doorway before she saw the figure sitting on her bed. If she hadn't recognized the blonde hair and broad shoulders, she had no doubt she would have screamed right there. But he looked up at her and she was more embarrassed if anything.

"Hey." Her voice was hoarse from the guttural cry she just had.

"Hey." Steve stood up from the bed, hands wiping against his plaid pants. "Sorry, I didn't mean to barge in here."

"It's okay." She limped to the corner where she had a hoodie waiting for her, trying to avoid his worried eyes. "Everything okay?"

"I was going to ask you the same question." His words mirroring hers from their earlier conversation.

"I'm fine. Sorry if the shower woke you." Becca pulled her hair out of the collar. She was very thankful that the only light in the room was what was peaking between the blinds form the window.

"That's not what woke me." His words were soft but proding. He didn't know where to stop the questioning, but he also knew she would do the same for him. She had since day one. But he heard the cries, and at first he thought she was in pain and came rushing in. But that quickly changed the more he listened. He didn't want to barge in on her in the bathroom, but he didn't want to leave her alone. So he had sat and waited, his heart tearing apart at listening her through the door. "Becca...you're not fine."

She sniffed with a laugh, trying to play it off. "That's very forward of you, Rogers. Kinda out of character."

"So is you not smiling." Steve took a few steps forward to start to get closer to her.

Her mouth opened a few time to reply, but nothing came out. Because nothing she could say right now would fix the situation. The lump in her throat had returned, getting harder to swallow down her tears. "I don't know how to move forward."

He nodded, understanding completely what she was saying. "That's okay. It'll take some time."

"And the guilt," Becca finally let herself look him in the eye as he was only a few steps away at this point, "how long does that take?"

Steve's jaw clenched, if he understood where she was going with that question, the answer was simple at the overplayed scene that ran in his head of the last moments of his best friend. "I still don't know."

She nodded, looking away as tears fell again. There was no stopping them from coming at this point. But as the pain exploded in her chest, warmth surrounded her body. Steve was surrounding her, pulling her close to his chest with his arms wrapped so tight around her she didn't have to worry about keeping herself standing.

Becca gathered the strength to push her arms around his waist, a new territory neither of them had gone past before. But he was warm and strong and familiar. And past all that she knew he was trying in a way he hadn't done before. With anyone. Her fingers found the soft shirt on his back and held on for dear life.

Steve was working on pure emotion at this point, the overthinking of the situation wasn't catching up to his brain just yet. He didn't think hugging her was the start of breaking down the walls not just around her, but around himself. Possibly allowing himself to let her in more than he had with anyone before. Because he held her close, arms cradling her back as his head rested against her own. Her floral and mint shampoo swarming his senses and letting him release the tension in his shoulders. But as he felt her dig deeper into his chest, her face resting against his collarbone, an ache inside was screaming out for more. He could say the hug was to comfort her, but he knew it was for himself as well.

The tears were slowing down, just being sniffles again, but neither let go too quickly. The darkened room gave them the free will to live this moment in secret and let it play out for as long as they wanted. But Becca didn't want to push Steve anymore than he already done to himself.

"Sorry." She pulled away softly, seeing the tear stains she made on his shirt. "I'm a mess." She tried to wipe them away.

"It's okay." Steve laid his hand over her own, halting her movements.

Becca only nodded, watching the way her hand disappeared under his. The city lights from the window playing against the white of his shirt and all she wanted to do was stay in this moment. "Are you tired?"

"No."

"Come on."

Their hands stayed connected as she pulled them from her room to the living room that was set up. There was a long couch set up against the windows, that she knew Tony did just for her. She sat them down, the quiet surrounding them. But with the floor to ceiling windows, she could breath just a bit easier at staring out at the skyline.

"This may sound really weird, but I love looking out windows." She whispered, digging her body deep into the hoodie. "I could go all day by just sitting behind a pane of glass and just watching the world go by."

Steve had taken notice of this quickly when spending time with her. It was all too often she got engrossed with the outside world. And he did as well with her. "You know I never in a million years would have guessed I would be here, in this spot." His eyesight looking down at the destruction of the city. But making out the cafe he had sat at many months ago where Becca had found him sketching the very tower.

"I'm sorry." Becca's voice was thick, the tears still very evident. "I don't know if I've said that yet."

Steve glanced over at her from the city landscape in front of them. She was already watching him, almost worried that if she didn't have an eye on him he would disappear from her sight. "Sorry that you never told me your last name was Stark and that you were hiding it from me?"

Her shoulders dropped at his words. His face was deadpanned and she couldn't read him, which worried her. She thought they were a step past this, but clearly that was just in the heat of the battle. "I'm sorry, Steve." Her words became rushed, trying to explain. "I just thought that if you knew you would think I was only trying to help because of it and-"

"-Becca." His body turned fully toward hers now, knees brushing against one another as he leaned down to be right next to her. "You shouldn't have to be sorry for being who you are or not wanting people to know immediately." Steve watched Becca's eyes drop from him now, tears returning easily. He understand she was living on a thread right now and he was trying to hold it tight for her, just like she had done for him. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

"It was deserved. I never wanted to hurt you and I broke that trust we formed."

And with that, his whole perception of Becca became ultimately clear. She was the most selfless person Steve had ever met, but she was a fighter. She was sweet and humble, but wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. And knowing the pieces of her he had picked up on over the past few months and now knowing who her family was, he wanted to know everything. Every little detail. Every little scar. Every life changing moment she has had.

Steve Rogers was infatuated with Rebecca Stark.

"You can't get rid of me that easily."

She looked up at him, seeing the softness in his eyes and the small smile that played on his lips. She couldn't help but actually return it, feeling safety in this moment for the first time in a long time.

What the two of them didn't know was they had a person in the shadows watching them. Tony hadn't been able to sleep, so he decided to do what he had been doing each night now since the battle; work on something. He didn't expect to find the two of them up that late, talking in close quarters.

"Tony?" Pepper whispered in the dark, coming up behind him, sleep still filling her eyes. "Is everything okay?"

He didn't reply automatically, just stayed silent watching as they continued talking, but more importantly, a laugh falling from his daughter's mouth for the first time in a long time. And he was at a fork in which way to take this road. "Do you think she likes him?"

Pepper stood next to him now so they could whisper without disturbing Becca and Steve. "I think they have a very close bond." She answered honestly. Pepper had been watching the two of them since Steve entered the apartment. His eyes were constantly following Becca, as if he was scared she was going to vanish away from him while Becca was trying her hardest to keep him at ease. It was easy to see they had a relationship of some type, even if that was only as a companion. But they moved as if they knew each other so well, and those past few months had clearly tuned them into the same frequency. "Are you worried?"

Was he worried? Tony didn't know if that was the right way to put it. "I guess just being the protective dad."

* * *

Like they agreed, the Avengers had met in Central Park at 8am sharp. SHIELD had set up agents for security so that no one would interfere with the happenings. But as Thor walked forward with Loki in tow, Becca automatically gripped the knife on her belt. Instinct still in play. Seemingly in a better headspace, Erik Selvig had joined them as well and was currently helping Bruce place the tesseract in the contraption for Thor to take it back to Asgard. Her eyes watched carefully of what was happening, but also taking note to the way Steve stared the cube down. Officially wanting the problem out of his life for good.

"You know, I'm going to miss being here on Midgard again." Thor came to stand next to Becca, giving the two some time to say goodbye.

"I'm going to miss you calling Earth something so enchanting." She smiled up at him, taking in his full outfit. "I'll also miss you as well and Mjolnir."

The god was taken back by her correct pronunciation of his hammer. "I think you may be the first person here to get that correct."

"I told you I did my homework." She pointed out.

"It has truly been an honor to fight with you, Lady Bex."

"Same to you, but my friends call me Becca. I expect you to do the same."

He smiled, almost bowing to her at the statement. "Until next time, Becca."

She crossed her arms, one thing unsure of. "How will I know when that'll be. I have no way to contact you. Should I shout into the sky."

Thor genuinely laughed at that one. "Trust me, I'll know."

Becca truly was in awestruck of him still to this day. The group found themselves in a circle around Thor and Loki, Selvig handing the vessel off to Thor with a final goodbye. With one last nod to them all, the brothers both took an end of the device. With a simple turn, blue light entrapped them and they were sent off back to Asgard. It went almost too quick to actually believe it was real.

"And just like that we're all a bunch of bumbling monkeys again." Tony spoke up, looking up to the sky. The group back to going about their business.

Becca followed Clint and Natasha over to the SHIELD car the two had drove in on, leaning against the trunk. "So, what now?"

"We're going to head out." Clint explained, raising his sunglasses on top of his head.

"We're?" She questioned, looking over at the redhead.

"Do you know what rest and relaxation is?" Natasha leaned on the trunk as well. "Because I'm supposed to go find out for at least, and I quote, a month."

Clint and Becca both pursed their lips, looking at each other in thought before she spoke up first. "I give it a week."

"A week?" Clint said flabbergasted. "I'm thinking three days max before she goes off on an adventure."

"Where are you going?" Becca asked, only getting a reply of her pointing at Clint. "Oh, farm life. Make her cut the grass with a push mower! Or better yet make her clean the kids clothes by hand."

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the man who was actually contemplating the ideas. "You do that and so help me God, Barton, you'll wish I would have hit your head harder."

"So violent." Clint stuck his hands deep in his jacket pockets. "No wonder Fury put you on a vacation."

"What are you up to, Bec?" The older women decided to move on from her own problems.

She shrugged, no knowing what the following months that she is on leave have to offer her. "I don't know. Maybe travel a little. Get back to dancing."

"Go on a cute 40s style date with your super soldier boyfriend." Clint batted his eyelashes at her in a teasing way.

Becca however wasn't standing for it. "Excuse me."

"Oh, come on. I'm just counting down the days until you fall in love. And when it happens all I have to say is 'told ya so'."

"You're right, Tasha. You clearly didn't hit him hard enough."

"Stop being a absurd, Clint. You know they're already in love." Natasha now in on the games.

Becca groaned, letting her head fall back. "Okay, goodbye. Go live on a farm now and never come back."

"Oh, you know we're just kidding." Natasha bumped her hip before turning to give her a hug. "Stay safe and if you need anything I'm a call away."

"Same to you." Becca gave her one last squeeze before moving away and doing the same to Clint. "Thank you."

"For what?" He mumbled into her hair.

"Everything."

He gave her one last squeeze before kissing her hair and letting her go. "If you want to come out for a few days just let me know."

"I'll probably take you up on that."

"Bruce! Your bag!" Natasha called over to where the three men were standing next to Tony's car.

As said man came over to grab his stuff, Becca watched from afar at her father and Steve's interaction. It seemed to be going well, even past civil at this point and she truly hoped it could grow past that. They were two men that meant a lot to her.

"Safe travels guys." Becca gave her two teammates one last goodbye, along with the rest of them before the duo headed out. "So, you staying at the tower for awhile?" She asked Bruce as they made their way back over.

"Yeah, until I figure out what to do next."

"Well if you need anything, feel free to ask. I've got plenty of time on my hands right now."

Bruce gave her a sincere smile, always taken back by her graciousness. "Thank you, Becca. Means a lot."

She nodded watching him finish the walk to Tony and the car from where she had stopped a few feet away from Steve. He was sitting on his bike waiting to see what to do next. "So." She meandered over to him, still slightly shy about the night before.

"So." He mimicked, having to look up at her now that she was directly in front of him.

"Bruce is going to back to the tower. Looks like my father has wrangled him in to some tech talk."

"Looks to be that way."

"Yep, and since I drove in with my dad and Bruce is leaving with my dad, I seem to be vehicleless and someone should take pity on the poor girl who still has an injured leg." Becca gave him the overly big puppy dog eyes and pouty lip.

"Huh." He looked around her, staring at the two seater. "Are you sure there's not a trunk on that thing?"

"Steve!"

He laughed, watching her get upset. "Hey Becca, you want a ride?"

"Well I thought you'd never ask." She gave him a big smile, one that he had truly missed seeing.

Steve smiled back but with an eye roll right along with it. "Alright, let's go." He pulled his leg over the seat, to allow her to get on with him.

She watched Tony and Bruce pull out of the park, using the speed in their advantage. Holding onto Steve's shoulders, Becca threw her uninjured leg over and settled on the back of the motorcycle.

"You ever been on one before?" He asked over his shoulder, feeling her try to situate herself.

"Only ever drove."

Steve reached back, carefully pulling behind her knees so that her chest was tight against his back and legs parallel with his own. Finally making sure her arms were grasped against his sides. "Don't let go."

She didn't want to. Because just like last night, she felt safe right here with him. "I won't."

He lifted the bike off the kickstand and started the engine. The rumbling coursing through each of their bodies. "You sure you're good?" He asked one last time, right over his shoulder where her head was pressed against.

She nodded, the fabric of the leather jacket against her cheek. "I trust you."

* * *

Up Next: Becca has a well needed to talk with Fury while her and Steve are finally reconnecting.

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**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR (FANGEDLOVERS) FOR MY REBECCA!**


	19. Hold Back The River

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Hold Back The River - James Bay

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

This is another emotional chapter, but from something that has been building for a long time.

We have 2 chapters left everything! And these next to chapters are going to be some of my favorite!

Also I'm very excited to announce that Book 2 of the To Build a Home Series will be called... **Impulse**! Once the final chapter is released you will be able to go right to that story to subscribe so that you are ready to go on this journey once again!

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**Hold Back The River**

_Hold back the river, let me look in your eyes_

_Hold back the river s_ _o I can stop for a minute and see where you hide_

_Hold back the river_

_Lonely water, lonely water,_

_Won't you let us wander?_

_Let us hold each other?_

"10 Days! Not 5, not 3, 10 long days! And you have the audacity to just send one text! I swear to God I could tear your hair out right now." Eve paced back and forth, hands tight against her hips. "Hey, you wanna come over? That's the text you thought would be good in this situation?"

"Eve-"

"-No! I get to rant this time." The blonde pointed her finger at her best friend in the way a kindergarten teacher would to put a kid in time out. "The last time I talked to you, you came to my apartment crying and then just silence. For two whole weeks. AFTER A GODDAMN ALIEN ATTACK!"

Becca did as she was told. She sat on the middle cushion of her couch, hands braced on her knees, and mouth closed tight. She just let her counterpart yell and pace, just get all the built up emotions out. Frankly, she deserved it.

"I thought you were dead or hurt or who knows what! Like, what was I supposed to think?" Eve ran her fingers through her frazzled blonde hair. The girl had always kept it straight and neat, but between her hair, her clothing, and her attitude everything was disheveled. "And then I see your father's picture on the news and the possibility they're saying that you might have been one of the 'Avengers' whatever the hell those people are." She used the group name in air quotes with a roll of her eye. "Like that's insane right? Please tell me that's insane."

Eve had finally stopped pacing at the question, hands gesturing out in front of her as she stared down, expecting a yes in response. But Becca only pursed her lips, face turned down to her lap, as if saying in expression that it was true. The articles and news reports were correct, she was just not commenting about it to the public. But Eve could read that expression immediately and if there was anyone around they would have seen the tension in her face drop and her eyes widen.

"It's true? Holy shit...holy shit." Her body moved around the coffee table to gently sit next to her. The blonde's posture rigid trying to understand what was just revealed. "I...I don't even know."

Becca turned her body to look at her, hand coming to gently rest on her own. "I know it's a lot."

"No, this isn't just a lot this is...this is massive. Like...like-"

"Alien invasion massive?"

"Not funny!"

Becca sucked her lips in, trying not to chuckle at the weirdness of this conversation. She's been here before, having to tell someone her other life. But this was the last person she had to open up to. Everyone now knew her secrets, all the double lives she had been living. With Eve now knowing, it meant she had nothing left to fake. It was so much weight off of her shoulders.

"How long?" Eve regained her headspace, turning her own body to face her friend.

"The summer before junior year."

She nodded, playing out the last two years of their college years together in her head. All the times Becca would go radio silent for a few days, when she would have random bruises or cuts. Just the overall mystery of her life since graduating. Eve had played it off as dealing with her father who was Iron Man, saving the world. But now her best friend was also putting her own life in danger.

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, but I couldn't." Becca tried to explain.

"No, I understand...well I don't actually understand, but I think I can get it."

"I am still keeping my identity a secret though." The brunette explained, hoping that her best friend understood what she was trying to say.

And she did. "Your secret is safe with me, I promise."

Becca smiled. "I appreciate that." The sound of a knock on her door, had both of their heads jumping up. The sound of the outside world infiltrating the small cocoon they had created inside the small apartment.

Getting up to answer the door, the young Stark was not at all surprised to find the man on the other side. "Hey."

Steve smiled back at her own that she gave. "Hi." His eyes trailed from her to the other women sitting on the couch behind her. "How's it going?" The words a dull whisper.

"Better than expected." Becca walked away from the door to let him enter, allowing him to close it behind him. "Eve, you remember Steve right?"

Said girl nodded her head, looking over the tall man she hadn't seen in a long time. And that's when it clicked in her head. Eve was smart, no one giving her the credit she deserved. But as she looked over the tall man standing next to her best friend her jaw dropped.

Becca and Steve could both watch the understanding fall across her face at what they understood was her understanding of who he actually was. Captain America. The guy that she learned about in high school history who was lost in action. The persona they had now been talking about on the news that was fighting in the battle of New York. Which she now understood her own friend had also been involved in.

And what was Captain America's name again? Oh, that's right. Steve Rogers.

"Holy shit." The words once again leaving Eve's lips. "Just one question...you are him, right?"

Steve looked down at Becca for inclination of what to do, but all she gave him was a shrug. He cleared his throat, hands finding safety deep in his pockets, before looking back at Eve. "Yes."

Eve stood up at the revelation, her face pursed in thought. She looked back and forth between the two, more and more taking over her overly crowded mind right now. With a deep sigh, she walked towards the kitchen. "I need a goddamn drink."

Becca giggled, eyes following her body as it turned the corner. Steve watched as well, not knowing the girl well enough to understand exactly that she was okay with it, but taking Becca reaction as all clear.

"Not what I was expecting." He finally pulled the leather jacket from his shoulders and set it on the back of the dining room chair.

As she watched his actions, his hands took over her attention. His knuckles were a dull red, the kind that would come from punching for a long amount of time. She knew, because it would happen to hers only after a half hour. But with Steve and his stamina it had to have been hours on end of using the punching bag. It worried her.

They both had dealing with the battle to the best of their abilities. At first, Becca was crying every night as her dreams were plagued over and over again by the visions of the battle and more. Coulson always appearing before she would wake to a cold sweat, tears already in her eyes. But she would wake up in the morning and try again at a new days. Slowly stretching her wounded leg as it started to heal.

On the other hand, she didn't know when was the last time she knew Steve had a decent night's sleep. His eyes drawn in and she knew he was spending countless hours at the gym. It seemed to be when he wasn't with her he was there. He didn't let her see those dark emotions though that she knew was building him up inside, living in his body. He never let anyone see how he was feeling and she didn't know how to help him once again.

So she tried to give him more uplifting moments when they were together, letting his mind wander from the dread that sit inside.

"I have something for you." Her voice broke the apartment as they only heard Eve clattering in the kitchen for alcohol and a glass.

Steve's forehead creased in confusion. "What?"

"Come with me." She gestured her head and had him follow her into the bedroom. "Okay, don't overthink this."

He snorted. "Well now I'm intrigued." His eyes glanced around the room he had only been a few times while she shuffled through things on her desk. The difference this time was the pictures that had found their place on walls and her dresser that hadn't been there before. Photos with her father, Pepper, Rhodey and so forth. He had taken notice to several of them also placed in her living room. She truly did hid a portion of her life from him, but he was starting to understand where she was coming from with that.

They had been talking about her nonstop on the news along with the rest of them. But the big question everyone was asking was if she truly was the mysterious brunette who was fighting that battle. The rest of them, besides Tony was easily capable of blending in. Especially given that Thor went back to Asgard, Clint and Natasha ran off for some down time and Bruce had only been seen as The Hulk. For himself no one knew quite yet what Captain America looked like in this time period but he had a feeling it would pop up eventually. For now though he was more than happy at still playing a face in the crowd.

Becca however wasn't that lucky. She had to be extra cautious where she was going and for awhile there Happy was driving her everywhere she needed to go. But the day before Tony had taken everyone back to Malibu to head home, and the played it off that Becca had went with them. So she was in the clear. No one was expecting to see the young Stark in NYC anymore.

"So, I had to run out to grab some things the other day and this caught my eye." Becca held out the bundle to him.

Steve carefully took it, feeling the leather on his fingers. It was the size of a large book, but not much weight behind it. It was brown leather with a thick buckle on the front which he began to unhook. With the buckle undone, he was able to flip it open to see that it was more than a book. Inside was a sketchbook that you were able to take out and a set of pencils on the other side with a sharpener. It was a whole set and it made Steve gobsmacked.

"Becca...I don't even…"

"Like I said, it's not a big deal." She shrugged, happy though he wasn't telling her he couldn't take it. "I just saw it and thought of you. Maybe you can use this as some release instead of the gym all the time."

He didn't look at her with those words, but his jaw did tighten. He should have known she would be able to notice something was wrong. She was so intune with people's actions and emotions. He just wondered how long she had noticed.

"Thank you. Truly." His blue eyes finally found her hazel ones. The green battling the brown today in them.

"You're welcome. But there's something else in the pocket under the pencils."

He fingers dug inside feeling cold metal. He pulled out the object to see a key in his palm. "Key?"

"It's for here." She gestured out as if saying to her apartment. "Incase of anything, I thought you should have key."

Steve took a deep breath, the metal feeling extra heavy in his palm." Becca-"

"-Nope." She pointed at him. "What did I just tell you?"

"Don't overthink it."

"Exactly. I just want you to know that you are always welcome here. Whatever you need I'm here."

He nodded, giving it one last glance before putting it back in the pocket for closing back up the book. "Thank you."

She gave him a big smile, seeing his shoulder unhinge from the spot so commonly close to his ears. He was letting her in more and more.

"Sorry to interrupt, but you're out of wine." Eve leaned against the doorframe, glass of red in her hand.

"That was a full bottle." Becca looked at her shocked, but also not by the events of today.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I had an exhausting day. Now please move your asses so we can get go provisions!"

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With another deep breath, she returned to en pointe, standing tall on the tip of her toes. She could feel the strain in her thigh, but it was finally a dull ache that was easy to work through. The music easing through her mind, allowing her body to move from muscle memory. Dancing through an older routine.

Becca heard the door close softly and movement in her peripheral vision but kept going, knowing who it was anyway. Not even using the mirrored wall to investigate. She just kept spinning, her body contorting and exaggerating. She felt good. The second she had put her ballet shoes on, the tension left her body and she could breath. An easy reminder of what she loved in life. What her motivation has been since she was a child.

As the last cords played out through the dance studio, Becca found her body in a curled position on the ground, hand above her head as she looked at the ceiling. The only sound that that could be heard was her slight heavy breathing echoing off the wood and glass. The brunette let her body out of position, eyes staring at herself in the mirror. Flushed cheeks and messy ponytail on top of a small body wearing a black singlet and active shorts. In that moment she looked like any other dancer. But she was so much more than that.

Her eyes finally looked in the corner of the mirror, finding Steve standing there. His stance was as usual; hands deep in his pocket with his shoulder rounded. Right now though, his face was soft, jaw slack which was much different than the usual grind. Those blue eyes seemed wishful almost. He had texted her a while ago to see what she was up to and she replied back with the address and room number of the dance studio she would stop by sometimes.

"Enjoy the show?" Becca smiled, eyes still watching him through the mirror.

"Beautiful." Steve's voice was soft, still transfixed on what he just witnessed. The raised eyebrow and cheeky smirk she was giving had him reeling back on what he just said. If it were 4 months ago he would have no doubt blushed and began trying to explain what he meant. But the comradery that had settled between the two was sarcastic and caring at the same time. And he knew that she understood what he truly meant, just trying to get a rise out of him. "You know what I mean."

She giggled, starting to unwrap her shoes. "Doesn't mean I don't enjoy trying to catch you off guard."

"You should do that more often."

"What? Catch you off guard?"

He snickered, shaking his head. "No, dancing. I've never seen something like that in person."

"Really?" She stood up to face him now on bare feet as she held her shoes in hand.

"Only in movies. Ballet at the time was for the more... sophisticated." Steve used his word wisely. Even though he was talking about a few decades ago didn't mean he was trying bash what she did now.

Becca nodded, dropping her shoes next to her bag. She had an understanding since she was taught the history while in school. To this day, people often thought of ballet as one note, and that was usually uptight. But there was so much more to it and it was fun to show someone that.

"Do those hurt?" He pointed down to the dropped shoes.

"It's definitely takes a few to get use to but it doesn't hurt. I'd take these over jazz shoes any day."

"You dance to jazz?" He replied, surprised.

"I can hold my own." Her hair bounced back and forth with her answer before taking a sip of her water. "You could probably teach me a thing or two."

"Doubt that. I know nothing."

Her eyes widened. "You never learned to dance? You toured around with women for a good year! How is that possible?"

Steve shrugged, keeping his hands deep in his pockets. "I don't know; it just never came up."

"Well, come on. I'll teach you." Becca gave him a big smile, gesturing him to come over to her.

He simply shook his head. Not budging. "Oh, come on, Steven." She slouched over to him, grabbing his forearms. "I promise to not cry when you step on my feet."

"Thanks, but no, I'm good." He grinned down at her, but she could tell it was pushed.

"Steeeeve!" She whined, using all her strength to try to move him. "This is something you definitely need to know how to do."

"Rebecca! Drop it!" His voice thundered over her, eyebrows forming together in anger. "I don't want to learn how to dance! Don't you get that?"

She shrunk away from him, her hands falling to her sides to keep her distance. She nodded her head, looking at the ground so she didn't have to stare at his usual soothing blue eyes. "I'm sorry. I went too far." Her voice was soft, trying not to get emotional over the man who just yelled at her. She thought it was something simple, but clearly it wasn't to Steve. "I shouldn't have pushed you."

As he watched her crumble in herself and Becca's normal lively face deflate, Steve realized what he had done. "Becca…Becca, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"It's okay, Steve." She cut him off, putting her hands up in defense. "I crossed the line. I won't do it again." She attempted a glance up at his face but instantly felt worse as the rejected sight sitting there. "I'm gonna go get changed really quick. Then we can leave." She didn't wait for him to answer or stop when he called out to her again, just grabbed her bag and ran to the locker room.

He felt sick to his stomach. He just wanted the floor to swallow him whole, not wanting to be standing here anymore. Not deserving to be here anymore. He had been so good, so damn good, at hiding his internal problems from everyone. Letting them just build further up inside because that's what he has done his entire life. But now there's this girl. This wonderful, extraordinary girl who is warm and smiles for the sake of living. And just being around her slowly starts to break that cold interior. But if it keeps breaking, that means everything inside needs somewhere to go and he's so scared of all his problems bleeding on her.

It was getting easier, it truly was. He was feeling like just a normal guy even though he woke up some 60 years in the future. And then the battle happen. If that did anything it made him more cynical and the walls were now higher and thicker. It was getting harder to hide it. But as he watched her exit the locker room she returned with a small smile still on her face. Like he didn't just yell at her and turn her down. She still came to stand next to his side and offer anything he needed.

Steve needed to start to change or he was afraid he was going to lose her.

They were silent as the duo exited the building, the late afternoon sun warming over their skin and both of their overall demeanors. Becca followed Steve to his bike, wondering if she was going with him or this was where they went their own ways. She fully didn't know where his head space was after everything and wasn't trying to do anymore damage.

"Can I take you somewhere?" The soldier asked, looking down at her with a helmet perched in his hands and eyes hopeful. She didn't have to think twice before nodding, taking the helmet he was offering. He had gotten it the day after their first ride together, wanting to make sure she was safe whenever she rode with him.

The two cruised through the late day traffic, Becca resting against his back as Steve swerved back and forth across the road. She didn't question where he was taking them, just watched the route. Not long finding themselves in Lower Manhattan before turning to drive across the Brooklyn Bridge. He took a right turn off the bridge and started driving back towards the water. The two found a parking spot near the pier and used the walking bridge towards the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

They were still mostly quiet, Becca following Steve and watching their surroundings. Not long after the path turned into the pier and they were able to watch the waterline, such a different sight then the destruction that encompassed in the center of the city. After a few more yards they started walking up the steps of The Granite Prospect, finding a place at the top for the two of them to sit away from the rest of the people walking about. It was a beautiful sight of the water and the city, with the thin outline of the Statue of Liberty in the background.

"My last words before the plane crash were with Peggy." Steve spoke up, breaking the stiff silence between the two. "I knew I was going to have to take the plane down so we chatted normally like it wasn't going to happen. I don't know if it was more for myself or her. We set a date. The following Saturday. 8 o'clock at the Stork Club. She was going to teach me to dance."

Becca felt her mouth instantly dry up at the words. She wanted to kick herself. No wonder he was so defensive about the situation, who wouldn't have been. She shouldn't have pushed him, she should have stopped the first time he told her no. "Steve..I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have pestered you about it."

"You didn't know." He leaned forward for his elbows to brace against his knees, hands knotted tightly in front of him. His eyes glanced over at her. She still had her backpack on and the helmet sat on her lap, hands gripping it tightly. Like she was ready to bolt at any given second. "I was so judgemental towards you keeping secrets, yet here I am not willing to even try to let you get closer. I have been holding you at arms length scared of letting someone in again."

Her lip was stuck between her teeth, not knowing if she should say anything or just let him talk. This was going to touch a place they hadn't tackled yet. "I understand where you're coming from with that."

"I know," He nodded, eyes looking back out over the water, "because you're different to me." Steve felt the knot in his throat, begging him to stop talk but he was ready. She deserved to know. "You notice things. And you don't comment. But I know you're paying attention and ready to catch me if I fall. And I know if I hadn't had met you back in February...I don't think I would still be here today."

The helmet left her lap and the backpack fell from her shoulder's now. Becca's full attention turned to him even if he wasn't ready to look at her yet.

"My mom knew my problems but I always tried to play it off even though I really couldn't with her. She was a nurse so she saw all my illness'. She did everything she could for me, but I still wanted to be strong for her even though I couldn't. I wish I could have given her the world because she deserved it.

"Bucky saw me as who I was. He didn't feel bad for me, or tried to use sympathy on me. I just was who I was and he let it be. He was the first person to treat me like anyone else. The jokes were easy and it let me feel normal even though I knew I wasn't. And I knew he knew as well, but it never felt like I was holding him back.

"And then Peggy saw me at both stages. But the physical appearance I guess didn't matter to her. She was strong on her own and took no one's crap. I have no doubt she kept that up probably still to this day. I guess she was the first person out of the small circle I kept to see underneath the anger I held in that skinny body."

His chest felt tight at all the memories and thoughts crashing together at once. Steve hadn't let himself think of everything at once like this since waking up because it was so much to handle. He only hoped saying them out loud would ease the pressure without having to overthink it. Becca however was holding her tears at bay, trying to stay strong like he said, for him. It broke her heart knowing all that he held within him even if she had an idea of it. But to hear him say the words out loud was a lot.

"All I wanted before this," he gestures to his body, "was to fight for the little guy. Everyone else was and there was no reason for me not to as well. And I was angry. Possibly at the cards that I was dealt but also because I didn't see myself finding a way to prove my worth. But I got my wish and sending that plane down meant the end. Everyone would be saved. Hydra was over. The war. It would be done once and for all. I was ready to die. Ready to see Bucky again. My mom."

Where he held calm, Becca had hot tears slowly running to her chin. It wasn't a full blown sob, just an emotional release at hearing him say he was ready to die.

Steve cleared his throat, wiping his sweat hands on his pants. Passerby's didn't glance at the scene and he was thankful for that. "And then a missile was sent to us during the battle. And all I can see is flashbacks to being in the plane. The whole reason I sent The Valkyrie was to stop it from destroying New York. Now I'm faced with it again but this time from our side. How am I supposed to move forward from that, trust these people?"

"You're not alone in that thought." The brunette spoke softly, finally letting someone other than Clint understand where she was sitting with the World Security Council as well. But she had never saw it from his perspective. Sure aliens were one nothing, but to have an almost deja vu of similar events after waking up from almost 70 years, that's a different story.

He looked over at her now, surprised to hear she had the same thoughts he did. He wanted to comment back but it seemed like it was all said through eyes. They were on the same side, just at different wavelengths. It was something they were going to be able to fight along together. Because they truly were better together than they were apart.

"I know with everything I can't help you wash away everything that has happen and I can never start to understand what you're going through." She carefully grabbed his hand, letting her palm press into his own. "But I'll never judge you for anything you're feeling or needing."

Steve nodded, watching how her tiny hand almost was consumed by his own. Not knowing where she began and he ended. A feeling of comfort he was still knew to. Holding hands period was something he never felt of the touch of skin on skin. Making his heart beat through his cold chest. "I know I put a lot of weight on your shoulders with my problems, ones that you don't even know about. And I know that anger still lives inside of me and I'm just trying to understand why I'm here still."

The words sat at the back of her tongue and there was no time than the present for them. "This might sound selfish but I'm glad you're here, right now, with me. Meeting you has changed my life more than I can possibly begin to tell you."

There was so much he had missed and there was so much he wasn't understanding of why everything happen. And he would always wish he could go back and finish a different story of his life. But being here right now with her, as she sat there allowing him to be the mess he truly was with no judgment, he might have found a small crack of where he could belong.

* * *

Up Next: Becca place in SHIELD is put to the test, also bring Steve into the New Age & birthdays!

Please Review:Follow:Favorite: All that Jazz!

**ALSO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MY TUMBLR (FANGEDLOVERS) FOR MY REBECCA!**


	20. Chapter 19: Night's On Fire

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Night's On Fire - David Nail

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

It's been a crazy month, and I apologize for not uploading sooner. But I love this story too much to rush it and not become what I truly want it to be.

But coming up after this chapter is our finale and I'm very excited for the next step of what's to come

Don't forget that Book 2 of the To Build a Home Series will be called... **Impulse**! Once the next chapter is released you will be able to go right to that story to subscribe so that you are ready to go on this journey once again!

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**Night's On Fire**

_She's a seat laid back, a boy's dream_  
Drawin' hearts in the window steam  
_She's a gettin' you right, knows what you like_ _  
_ _And pours it on like gasoline_

_**June 24th, 2012** _

"I look ridiculous!"

Becca rolled her eyes from her seat on the other side of the dressing room door where Steve was locked inside. "You're  _being_  ridiculous."

"You'd think differently if you saw this monstrosity." Steve's voice was high but rough, clearly looking at himself in mirror and hating what he was seeing.

"Then open the damn door and let me see!" She smiled at the old woman that past with a disdain look on her face from her exaggeration.

"Not gonna happen."

"Steven-"

"-Don't Steven me!" He fought right back with her. A fight that they had been having all day.

It was his idea, he wanted to get new clothes, so she agreed on giving him a hand. She had a feeling it was going to be a bit of a challenge, but not to the point they were at now. It was the fifth store they were in and her ice coffee had run dry two stores ago. Not to mention it was nearing the end of June, so the heat and the population of NYC had turned up.

Becca didn't reply this time, only picking at the frayed ends of her jean shorts. In all honesty she should probably grab some new pairs for herself since she lived in them even into fall with thigh highs or stockings. But today wasn't about her, it was about the man who was actually only 27 and figuring his style out in this new century.

"Did you leave?" Steve asked from behind the door still only getting silence in return. "Becca?"

She figured if she stayed quiet, he would get anxious and want to check if she was still there, getting her win in him opening the door. And ding ding ding, she was correct when the door pulled open just enough for him to poke his head out.

"Took you long enough." She smiled up at him, legs and arms crossed, knowing she won.

His eyebrows narrowed down, the glare ever present. "You did this on purpose."

"I don't know why you expect anything different anymore. Now open the door and give me a turn." Her finger twirled around in front of her to get him to spin.

She couldn't see much, but she did see his shoulders deflate and his head drop back. Just wishing the ceiling would open wide and suck him into the sky at this point. With one final breath, Steve opened the door, finally allowing her to see the outfit. And he was right. He wore a graphic tee and too baggy jeans on his tall frame and it just didn't look right.

"See! This was a horrible decision." His long finger pointed at the uneasy face she made.

"Umm…" Becca held a hand over her mouth, eyes taking everything in. Especially with the new hairstyle he had been sporting, it just wasn't working, and she couldn't think of something constructive to say. About a week ago he had shown up at the diner to meet her for lunch with a dramatic haircut. Well to anyone else it wouldn't have been, but for Steve it was another huge step.

He immediately asked if she hated it, fingers running through the front which now spiked out with some product. This was the longest section now, the sides and back nearly buzzed to his head and then swooped forward on the top. She did not hate it at all, in fact she thought he looked even more handsome than normal. No longer having it fall in his eyes.

"Okay, I'm changing and we're leaving." Steve's hands flopped against his sides in annoyance with a heavy sigh. He didn't even let her answer before turning on his heel and locking himself back in the tiny room.

Her teeth began gnawing on her bottom lip, feeling absolutely horrible about the situation. Even with all of the things he has missed out on, Steve had a good understanding of moving forward. He quickly caught on to technology and more that Becca had shown him. Things that he could study & memorize came naturally, it was the cultural influence on himself that came as an issue.

His jaw was back to clenched as the tall soldier exited the dressing room, stack of clothes in hand that he gently placed on the return rack. Even in the element of annoyed, Steve still was considerate enough to place the clothes there, instead of how most people just leave them in the small room for the employees to figure out on their own. Noticing he wasn't stopping, Becca grabbed her bag and stalked after him, the bag finally coming across her chest as the two made it outside.

The hot and humid air immediately caught them off guard instead of the steady air conditioning from the previous store, but they kept moving. She wasn't fully aware of where Steve was leading them since they decided to do their shopping trip, or lack thereof, in SoHo for the day. It was a bit less crowded in the Thursday afternoon. So it wasn't like he could just take a quick few blocks and be back at his apartment.

That's when a store up ahead caught her attention. She had an idea, possibly something to help him rather than throw him further under the bus. Just as they were about to walk past, Becca grabbed the taller man's arm, getting him to stop with a pull. He gave her a wondering look before looking up at the store and back at her, exhaustion written across his face.

"Just hear me out." Becca held her hands up in defense. "This is the last store of the day, just let me pick a few things out for you to try. If you don't like it, we'll leave straight away. I'll even take you to a vinyl store for you to get some more records." She used that as the cherry on top knowing he's been looking to get more into his collection since buying the record player.

She could almost see his lips purse in thought, but Steve played it off an emotionless face as he looked from the store to her again. Really thinking it over.

"Where's the record store?"

Becca laughed with an eye roll to accompany it. "It's up by Washington Square Park. Next to a place that sells the most delicious cupcakes."

"How do I know you're not just making it up to get some cupcakes?"

"Because I go there a lot to get my dad records."

Steve's brow line crinkled in surprise. "Your dad collects?"

"Yeah, I always grab him something for holidays or birthdays. He says it's his way of staying in touch with reality, I say it's the one thing he enjoys without digital modifications. He won't admit it though." She shrugged, happy to talk about her father and something the two had in common. "So, do you trust me?"

Another deep breath followed by a "fine" escaped his lips, almost long enough for her to already grab his arm and drag him into the store. The two road the escalator up to the second floor where the men's section was located. Becca left him on his own, letting him look for things on his own, but she was on a mission. After the multiple style choices today and just knowing who Steve was, the young brunette believed she had an idea to make him feel a bit more blended in with the world.

She grabbed shirts, jackets, jeans, pants, and just about anything that caught her eye. She went for simple. Plain essential colored shirts that could be mixed and matched with any pants. Blues, Blacks, Whites, Greys. If anything came out of the earlier stores, she at least knew what sizes to grab. Steve's eyes all but fell out of his head at seeing the overflowing basket in her hand.

"This was a bad idea."

Becca tufted at his words before pushing him towards the dressing room. They picked the one again with a bench right outside, so she could sort out the clothing for him to try on. Pushing an outfit into his arms, she watched him once again lock himself away with a deep sigh. She knew he was beyond tired of this, but maybe a little help this time around could change his perspective.

"Well?" She called out, while she was laying out further outfits for him.

"I...I don't know." His voice was muffled this time.

"Can I see? Please?" Her voice softer than it had been all day, knowing he was in a different mindset too. She gnawed on her lower lip as the door clicked open, slowly producing Steve's form from the other side.

Steve's hand flopped at his side, looking down at himself before up at her. "This is it."

"I like it." A wide smile slowly formed over her face taking in the small details and seeing how well it fit on him.

His eyebrows shot up on his forehead, surprised by her thoughts. "Really?"

A nod was followed by her eyes still looking at him up and down. He wore a white, round neck t-shirt with a pair of medium wash jeans that were slim fit, sitting tight against his hips but was only slightly loose in his legs. It was simple, but it just felt right on him.

"You look great." She stood from her seat, eyes finally dropping from his form to grab more clothes in his hand. "What do you think?"

He stayed quiet, a hand reaching up to sweep hair off his forehead that no longer hung there. His nervous tick that he no longer had to use in situations. Instead, Steve let his body meld with how Becca pushed him back into the room to stand in front of the mirror, having no choice but to look himself over now. He had to admit for the first time since they started this long process this morning, he felt somewhat comfortable in the clothing.

Becca stood behind his shoulder, watching his face as he looked himself over. She was almost desperate for him to feel comfortable. His next step of finding a place in this new world. His face wasn't emotionless but wasn't hating it. It was almost a look of understanding.

"So, then you could layer it up." The brunette broke the silence. She held up a blue flannel that he pulled on over his shoulders, first styling it open then buttoned up.

Steve only nodded at the suggestions she was giving him but wasn't reluctant. The sound of her phone ringing in her bag took them both y surprise. Becca rushed out of the small room to grab the item, seeing Eve's picture on the screen.

"Here, try these." She shoved a few more clothing items in his arms before answering. "Hey there." Becca spoke into the phone, eyes watching the man in front of her once again disappear behind the door.

"Happy Birthday eve!" Eve's bright voice floated through the other end of the phone.

The other girl sat back on her bench with an eye roll that she couldn't see. She had almost forgot about her birthday but leave it to her best friend to remember. "Hello to you too, Evelyn."

"Rude, Rebecca."

"What's going on?"

"You're coming out with me tomorrow night." Becca was about to respond before Eve cut in again. "And before you try to come up with a lame excuse, as your best friend it is my duty to get you through your quarter life crisis."

Becca pinched the bridge of her nose at the thought of her 25th birthday. After a hell of a beginning of this year she wanted to play it down. She had to almost beg her father and Pepper to not drop everything they had been working on to come out to New York. She wasn't up to it. But, maybe, something small with her best friend wouldn't be too bad.

"What did you have in mind?"

She had to pull the phone away from her ear as Eve's squeal of excitement rang through. "Oh my god! I'm so excited. I reserved a table at that country bar up on 51st street you like. You, me, Cora, and I'm expecting you to bring Steve."

At the mention of the latter, Steve opened the door. This time stepping out in a pair of dark wash jeans and a royal blue shirt that made his eyes pop. Another outfit that made Becca grin and give him a thumbs up.

"What time?" The young Stark asked as she watch him pull on a black bomber jacket on his own accord.

"I'm thinking 9ish. We'll meet you guys there."

Becca agreed, finishing up the details before throwing the phone back in her bag.

"Eve?" Steve asked, standing in the doorway.

"Mhmm." She nodded, contemplating her next words. "She's inviting us to go out with her and Cora tomorrow night."

The soldier's eyebrows raised at the invitation. It almost sounded like a double date to him, yet he knew that the two of them were simply friends. "What's the occasion?"

Becca huffed out a deep breath, eyes watching other people come and go from the dressing area before looking back at him. "Promise to not overreact?"

"You know, you say that to me an awful lot." His arms crossed against his broad chest.

She said it because he tended to overthink almost everything she took her time telling him. "Tomorrow is my birthday."

Becca watched as his eyes grew wide and jaw clenched, holding back the questions he so wished to exclaim. Like, for example, why she hadn't told him in the first place. Steve opened his mouth but was quickly stopped by the glare and finger pointed at him.

"As I was saying, she got us a table at a bar and wants you to come if you're up for it."

A night out is something he hadn't done yet. And sure, he was a bit apprehensive but it was for her birthday, quite literally the least he could do. "Guess we have to get me an outfit."

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**_June 25th, 2012_ **

The amount of times she had sat in this chair with a looming thought of unknown sitting above her head was getting over the number of fingers she could count on. But here she sat in the metal chair across from Director Fury in his office, the right summer sun reflecting around them through the walls of windows.

"Am I here for you to tell me I'm back on missions?" Tugging at the business skirt she wore as Becca crossed her legs. This is the best she could do for the blistering heat outside and be business appropriate.

"Not quite." The man drummed his fingers against he desk, sitting back in his chair.

"I'm getting antsy, sir."

"You and Romanoff don't know how to sit still." Fury shook his head. Clearly the redhead was putting up her own fight. "I actually called you in to explain a proposition from Washington."

That got her to sit up straight in her seat. "To meet with Secretary Pierce?"

Fury took a moment to respond. "To meet with the World Security Council."

That was not something she expected to come out of his mouth. "Sir?"

"They have been wanting to meet with you since the battle but I have been delaying it to the best of my ability. But it seems my authority has run out."

"What do they want?" It must be some type of importance if they have been scheduling a meeting for two months.

"I'm not entirely sure." The Director leaned his elbows against the desk. "But I believe it has something to do with your position and your family name."

"Why can't we just do it here? Why do I have to go to D.C.?"

"They don't want me to be there to be bias of your opinion. They think I'll sway you."

Becca bit her lip, fingers pulsing on the chair arms, holding control to not fiddle with a knife. "You know I'm uneasy since they sent the nuke."

"I think if you weren't, I'd be more concerned. Just go hear what they have to say. You are smart. You'll know what to do." Fury watched as the young girl deeply thought about what was to come.

"When?"

"In the next couple of days. Maybe...take the Captain with you."

She was surprised by his suggestion, but all she could think of was the problems with that. "But Ross-"

"Let me take care of Ross. I think it would be good for the both of you to get out of the city for a bit. Plus, I know there is someone in D.C. that Rogers is dying to see." His one eye narrowing in on her, knowing very well of her visit with Peggy Carter.

"Guess I wasn't as good at hacking as I thought back then." Becca smirked, not even denying it.

"I'll let Pierce know you'll be down within the week."

She nodded as she got up from her seat, knowing this as the end of the conversation. But one thing hanging in her mind was making her turn from the door one last time. "Sir, what if I don't agree with what they have to say?"

Director Fury sat back in his chair again, lips pursed. "You do what you believe is right, no matter the consequences."

The spy let those words sink in before turning and finally exiting the office. As she walked through the halls there was less staring this time then the first days after the battle of New York. For Barton, Romanoff, and herself it went from STRIKE Teams to Avengers. Ranking that hadn't existed before them.

Making her way down to the STRIKE offices, Becca couldn't help but tense at the door open at the end of the hall. A person she used to call a close friend, not just colleague, that neither had spoken to since the incident. Becca pulled her shoulders back and gained the courage to get this over with.

She was thankful to see he was alone in the office, reading through papers scattered on his desk. The simple knock on the door had him looking up at her.

"Bex…" Garrett's word was breathless, clearly not expecting her to be there. "Hi."

"Hey." She smiled softly. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." The man stood up, hands closing some folders. "I didn't think you were back yet."

"I'm technically not. Fury asked me to come down for a meeting." Her hands played with her fingers as a distraction. "New mission?"

"Possibly." He nodded, looking at the papers before back at her. "Some problems in Indonesia."

There had never been this awkwardness between the two and now she was beyond regretting ever allowing her feelings for him to take shape. It wasn't a good idea to get involved with someone you worked closely with.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for everything that's happened with us." She finally was able to look him in the eye. "I should have just explained to you-"

"-No, I shouldn't have acted the way I did." Garrett's fingers pushing into his chest. "I was so worried about you during the battle and thinking we ended things the way we did." HIs sentence trailed off but Becca understood. "I'm just really glad you're okay."

"Are we okay?" She whispered.

"We're more than okay."

The tension left her shoulders finally. It was a step forward, something the both of them needed.

"Happy Birthday, by the way." He smiled wide at her knowing she got embarrassed by the attention.

"Thanks." She simply rolled her eyes. "So, a couple of us are headed to Utah's tonight, Eve's idea. If you wanted to stop by…"

Garrett nodded, hands stuffed in his pockets. "I'm supposed to be going out with some friends tonight, so I'll make sure to stop by. Get you your yearly shot."

A blush surrendered to her cheeks as she laughed. "Sounds like a plan. See you later."

"Bye, birthday girl."

After a good reconciliation she wasn't expecting to literally walk into the lion's den on the way out. Or so she thought.

"Sorry." Becca apologized after brushing shoulders with none other than Brock Rumlow himself.

"No problem." The man brushed it off, not attacking her for it and eve saying more. "Nice work in New York, Bex."

She barely had any time to react before he walked away. "Thanks?" It was odd and she was confused having never had one nice thing said to her by the STRIKE Captain before. Things truly were different in that building.

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"To Becca, 25 years young even though one could swear she was an 80 year old women who likes to stay home and knit with her 8 cats."

"Jesus Christ." Said girl dropped her head into her hand at Eve's 'cheers'. The words getting a small chuckle out of Steve and Cora on either side of her.

"We are beyond lucky to have you in our lives because you are a goddamn queen. Cheers to you my beautiful best friend!" Eve finished her speech and raised her shot glass in the air to signal the rest of them. The foursome quickly knocked back the liquid, the taste of tequila burning down each of their throats.

"Oh god!" Cora groaned, quickly grabbing a lime trying get rid of the taste in her mouth as soon as possible. "Did you pick the lowest bottle possible?"

"I ain't got the cash for higher bottle service, sorry not sorry." Eve dropped her own discarded lime in her empty glass. "Next time I'll be sure to flirt my way for a better priced bottle." The words got a glare from her girlfriend.

Becca and Steve only eyed each other, sipping down their drinks to avoid the drama between the couple. They had only been there for about a half hour by now. Steve had picked Becca up from her place with a beautiful bouquet of hydrangeas and she was gaga at the sight. The two decided to grab a cab to the bar and met Eve and Cora outside. The place was already packed at 9pm, but then again it was a Friday night.

A loud guitar solo began through the room grabbing a lot of people's attention, including Cora's. "Can we go dance please?" She was already out of her seat, grabbing her girlfriend's hand.

"Bec? Steve?" Eve looked at the two as she jumped off her seat.

"We're good for now, go ahead." Becca brushed them off, giving Steve the easy way out. The two watched them get sucked into the crowd.

"You can go you know." Steve spun his glass of beer on the wooden, high table.

"Nah, I'm good. Not tipsy enough for that yet." She turned away from the scene to give Steve her full attention now, taking a sip of her own drink, a mint mojito. "So, question."

"Yes, ma'am."

She leaned forward, elbow resting on the table to hold her chin up. "How'd you know I love hydrangeas?"

He shrugged, clearly playing it off with a drink of his beer. "Lucky guess."

"You're so full of shit."

"What? I knew you love flowers from the amount you have around your apartment-"

"-Who told you?" The smile was still present even as she cut him off, finding it adorable to watch him panic through a thought.

Steve leaned forward himself now, arms crossed on the table, so they were closer together at their adjacent seats. "You're trouble, you know that."

" _Who told you_?" Becca's sung it out, truly getting under his skin.

With one last sigh, he finally answered. "Pepper."

"See, was that so hard?" She laughed at his own glare now. "So...you talked to Pepper. Interesting."

"Well someone gave me no knowledge in advance of today's specialness, so I needed to someone's help ASAP. Seems like you were trying to downplay today to everyone with what she was saying." He finally got to say what he's been wanting to since yesterday when he originally found out. "So I called Pepper, desperate for something. I know it's small-"

"-It's not." Her brown locks shook with her head as the curls played against her shoulders. "I don't like crazy gifts or expensive things. It was by far the best birthday present I've gotten."

Steve only nodded, eyes losing contact with her own as the blush surfaced on his neck from the new red flannel he had bought yesterday.

"So, I had my meeting with Fury today." She changed the subject to get him out of the hot water.

"R-right." He cleared his throat, sweaty hands wiping against his jeans. "How'd that go?"

"Well, I'm expected in D.C. within the week." Becca pushed some hair behind her ear, feeling the uneasiness of the conversation she had earlier coming back.

"For what?" Those blue eyes widening at the thought of her leaving.

"The World Security Council wants to meet with me and Fury doesn't even know why. And I'm slightly freaking out." She admitted, guzzling down more of her drink. Steve didn't even know what to say at the surprise admission, knowing their feelings were mutual for the group after the battle. "Want to make the trip with me?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, why not? We can make a road trip out of it. Explore some places along the way."

He didn't even have to think about it. "Yes."

She was shocked by his quick response. "Really?"

"Absolutely." He was excited to get out of the city for a bit to see more of the world, but also just wanted to accompany her for whatever would come out of this meeting.

"Well that was easy." She laughed, finally sitting back in her seat.

A road trip for the two of them would truly test where this friendship was going. But now she had something else to plan and look forward to that wouldn't take up her worried brain before or after the meeting.

Steve took a deep drink of his beer, eyes floating around the bar before going back to Becca. Her finger tapped against her glass, shoulders moving with the music, and eyes watching the crowd dancing. Clearly itching to get out there but not wanting to leave him alone.

"Go dance."

The brunette's locks spun around her head as she looked back at him with wide eyes. "What? No, I'm good."

He rolled his eyes, but a small hint of a smile was on his lips. "I'm a big boy, I can be by myself. Promise not to talk to strangers." Steve's laugh was loud as she pushed his shoulder roughly. "Go dance."

With a sigh, Becca hopped down from the tall chair, finishing her mojito once her feet were on the wooden floor. "You sure?"

He didn't answer her, only starting gulping down his beer and giving her a soft glare. She finally got the signal and made her way out to the dance floor as another loud country song thumped through the speakers, everyone out there shouting in excitement as it came out. Clearly a fan favorite from what Steve could tell.

He leaned back in his chair, eyes softly watching the scene and her. She danced with Cora, a smile bright on her face as she sang along to the song. Watching her brought a soft grin on to his own face. Becca truly was sunshine to him, easily warming him from the inside out.

"Shots!" Eve maneuvered through the crowd to the table with a shot glass in each hand. The glasses clambered on the tabletop, taking Steve by surprise as the tall blonde girl jumped into the seat opposite of where Becca once was.

He grabbed the glass, the amber liquid nearly running over the edge onto this fingers. "Whiskey?"

"Only the best this time I swear. Cheers!" The two clinked glasses before shooting the liquid back. "I'm glad you finally got Bec out there. Always have to push that girl to have some fun."

"Just shy of kicking and screaming." Steve's eyes falling back to Becca where she was now dancing with an older gentleman, a laugh falling from her lips as he spun her around.

"That girl is one of a kind." Eve looking in the same direction.

"I've come to learn that."

She picked up her forgotten drink from earlier. "Once she's in your life you've gained her for life."

He nodded, fingers playing with the condensation on the table from his glass. Her words struck him in a different way. The girl sitting with him right now knew Becca as a friend first and foremost. Not the fighter that everyone else knew or the family member. Eve saw all the in-betweens that made Becca who she was today. "You guys met in college, right?"

"Yes, sir. Freshman year." Eve thought about it for a moment, laughing at the old memories that were playing back. "The second or third week if I remember correctly. No one would have put bets on that friendship."

"Why's that?"

"Cause Becca's more subdue, thoughtful. And I don't think I have to explain to you after meeting me that I'm not afraid to be loud and obnoxious. She's the Thelma to my Louise."

His brow furrowed at the names. "Who?"

The girl's face was first one of shock before it clicked with why he wouldn't know. Becca explaining to her the whole situation since she was bringing the two around each other more. "Tell Bec you need to see that movie. It's a classic."

"Will do." The mental list kept growing and growing for things to still catch up on. "So you were both in ballet?"

Eve nodded, taking another drink. "Yeah, we partnered up on everything together because everyone else was shitheads."

Steve almost choked on his beer, not expecting those words but like she said, he should get used to it being around her. "Why is that?"

"Becca is and has always been one of the best ballerinas, dancers, whatever, I've ever seen. She puts her goddamn all into it, but all those kids had it out for her from the beginning." It might have been from the alcohol that was running through her system, but the anger was real. "No one ever gave her the time of day because they all thought she got everywhere because of her family. That her father paid off the school to get her in and the only reason the teachers gave her good grades was for good publicity for the school. You name it, it was said about her and it was all bullshit."

Steve couldn't help but feel his chest burning almost out of anger for these kids he didn't even know from years past. It was situations like this that surprised him. Rebecca Stark was truly the sweetest, smartest, just overall genuine person he had the pleasure of knowing. And he could sit there and say people of his past never understood him and took him for granted for who he used to be and the mantel he became. But so was she. She had been labeled since she was born being the daughter and granddaughter of very influential men in the world. She could have turned into someone who was self-absorbed and greedy, but she was none of that. She was humble and exquisitely positive. And it just made Steve want to protect her even though he knew full well she could easily hold her own.

"Was not expecting him to show up."

Steve broke out of his thoughts at Eve's words and followed her eye line back to the crowd. He found Becca where she had been before, but this time was accompanied by Garrett. "I didn't know he was coming."

Eve took a long drink of her vodka tonic, almost annoyed at the sight of the other man. "Honestly, after what happened between the two of them, I was expecting to never see him again."

"What do you mean?" His eyes falling back and forth between the two and Eve. "About the fight they had?" Steve remembered quite well the way she had pleaded with him to get out of the office a few months back after the scene the two caused, but he never asked what it was about.

"Or more specifically what led to the fight in the hallway." The blonde glanced at him, but only saw confusion on his face. "She didn't tell you what it was about?" Receiving a shake of his head, she sighed. "Well, damn. I'm about to break best friend code so don't disappoint me, Steve."

"I'll try my best not to." He said to her but couldn't help to keep looking back at Becca and Garrett where they were talking in the middle of the crowd very close together.

"I guess they had gotten a little drunk together the night before that fight and it followed with the two of them...sleeping together." Brows furrowed again at her with the phrase, clearly not understanding what she meant exactly. "Jesus...um, they had sex."

Steve understood fully now, and it made his chest burn, especially when he turned back to see the two of them now hugging. A laugh drug out of Becca at something Garrett must have said to her as they separated.

"Yeah, so Becca was super upset about it since they kinda had a flirtation relationship for a while, but it was a mistake and yeah. You saw the end of it." Eve downed the rest of her drink with an ease tip back of her head. "Christ, if he's staying around, I'm going to need to drink heavily at this point." She looked around for a waitress to order more.

"I don't get it," Steve rubbed a hand against his chin, "if she was upset why is he here?"

"Well they clearly reconciled." Eve quickly ordered the both of them more to drink before turning back to him. "At what expense I have no idea. But knowing Becca she let him back in with ease cause she always believes people deserve second chances even when some don't. I love her to death, but sometimes her own emotions are too much for her to handle."

"I don't even know much about him."

"And you won't. I mean I didn't know much because of just finding out about Becca's job and all but there just something off about him. I mean, the guy basically led her on for over 4 years I guess to end up like this." The waitress brought their drinks and each paid respectively. "But I swear, Steve, I swear to God if you do what he did to her, super soldier or not, I will come at you."

Steve let the cold beer cool the overall questionable feelings in this situation against his hand. "We're not in a relationship, Eve."

"I know." She nodded, looking him straight in the eye. "But like I said, that girl is in your life now and she'll always fight for you. Don't let her down, because she won't let you down."

The few words were never truer as the day is old. Steve had only known Becca for 5 months now and in these months, they have dealt with personal and other worldly side by side. And sure, there were some hiccups, but she had done nothing but support him from day one. There was more to come and there was more the two would struggle through, but he could easily promise Eve now that he promised to never let her down. Because if he let her down, he would be letting go of the world that has been created around him, the world she had become and the one he navigated towards.

* * *

Up Next: THE FINAL CHAPTER! Stecca head to DC and face Steve's past & Becca's future.

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	21. Chapter 20: Home

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel; only Rebecca and the world surrounding her.

Home - Phillip Phillips

Welcome to Lithe from the To Build A Home Series!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to this story so far!

This is it. This is the officially the Finale for Book 1 of the To Build a Home Series! It's been a wonderful, crazy, amazing year and I can't thank you all enough for coming along on this crazy ride that is just beginning. Thank you for the comments and the support. You are all the ones that truly pushed me to keep going and now I get to show you more this world in books to come.

Once you are finished with this chapter, you will be able to find Book 2  **Impulse** ready for you to follow. This way you won't miss out on a second of the story!

Thank you again, and here is the Finale of Lithe!

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**Home**

_Hold on to me as we go_  
_As we roll down this unfamiliar road_  
_And although this wave, wave is stringing us along_  
_Just know you're not alone_  
_'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home_

_**June 28th, 2012** _

One way to truly let all your secrets escape is going on a road trip together. Spending every day together, whether that be in a car or a single hotel room or the places being explored. There was no alone time that lasted longer than 15 minutes, so this trip would seriously put their friendship to the test. Becca and Steve packed up a car that Tony had let them borrow and set out their exploration on Monday.

They first drove to New Jersey. Each picking stops for every place they were going. Becca wanted to stop by Asbury Park for the beach, shopping and showing Steve the pinball and arcade center that the two of them got lost in for over 2 hours. Steve picked the Thomas Edison Nation Park where they took their time learning more in the Inventor's home and laboratory. Also the park was easily enjoyable to sit outside and stare at.

_**June 29th - June 30th, 2012** _

Traveling to Philadelphia truly had them testing their demeanors with the dead stop traffic that always seems to be everywhere in the city. Traffic in Philly compared to NYC was two different monsters entirely. Once they finally made it to the hotel, each hot and in desperate need of food, they parked the car and either walked or took a taxi from there. The two hit the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Reading Terminal, and Magic Gardens. There was so much to do and see they spend a day and a half before heading to Wilmington, Delaware for an easy day. The duo wandered the cobblestone streets. Steve and Becca lazily walked around taking in the old colonial town and the pleasant atmosphere.

_**July 1st, 2012** _

Finally they made it to Baltimore for a day, spending most of it in the Inner Harbor. Exploring the Science Center, the aquarium, and especially the Historic Ships. They relaxed on one of the sightseeing boat tours, allowing Becca to sit back and watch Steve's eyes enthralled by everything around him the same way he had been the past few days. Her favorite thing was going into the 'Ripley's Believe it or Not!' and truly watching the soldier's head spin around at everything. They were such tourists and she loved every second of it.

_**July 2nd, 2012** _

As Friday was already upon them the duo made their last stop in Washington D.C. It probably wasn't the smartest idea to do all of this the week of July 4th weekend, but it was what it was. Becca was also quite aware of a birthday that was upon Steve. He hadn't brought it up, but she had a feeling Steve knew Becca was aware of the day. And depending on how the following day went, either she had a good present for him or it would blow up in her face.

Not only was she on edge of the rest of the weekend, but as soon as they checked into their hotel, Becca immediately had to start getting ready for her meeting. Her nerves must had to even attach on to Steve because as she began to get her outfit ready he decided to head out for a bit, saying he was going to give her space.

Becca assembled an outfit she felt comfortable in but still professional enough. It was a blue, green, and black plaid skater skirt with a high neck, white, silk tank top. A black blazer rested on a hanger over the bathroom door to be put on last. For being a professional spy and the grace of a ballerina, the girl couldn't help the nerves that were attacking her hands. A steady shake that had her reapplying her eyeliner for the third time. It was now very know to her that she had begun holding her tension in her hands. Something that she wasn't along in noticing. The man that just returned had been watching said fingers start to tap increasingly more each day they had traveled closer to the Capitol.

"I'm back." Steve spoke loud enough for her to hear over the sink that was running in the bathroom where she had stationed herself. "I brought you coffee and yogurt."

"You're a saint!" Becca called out in acknowledgement.

He could still hear the tension in her voice even though she tried to sound upbeat. He sat down at the little table that was set up in the corner with two chairs. He emptied the bag of the items he had bought at the coffee shop down the street; a cinnamon raisin bagel for himself with her yogurt. They had left early to get here, skipping out on breakfast since they were allowed an early check in time. The two had taken turns driving throughout the week but Becca had insisted on being behind the wheel that morning, needing to put her mind someplace else.

The sound of items falling and Becca cursing had Steve nearly rushing in to check on her. "Becca, you okay?"

The question was answered by the door opening and the young Stark exiting the small room with a sigh. Even though she was almost stomping her bare feet she still walked with grace. "I'm regretting everything."

Steve handed her the ice coffee he had gotten for her as soon as she fell in her seat. "You ever meet them before?"

"No." The word was more of a sign then spoke. "Just the stories from Clint and Fury. I'm probably freaking out over nothing."

"Maybe." He shrugged, taking a sip of her own coffee. "Or your instincts are telling you something you should listen to."

Becca only shrugged, pulling her leg up under her to sit. "What's your plan?"

As the bagel was chewed in his mouth, Steve's eyebrows creased at her question. "Meaning?"

"While I'm being filleted alive," she pulled the aluminum off her yogurt, "what are you going to do?"

He wiped his mouth with a napkin before answering in almost an obvious tone. "Wait for you."

"That's ridiculous." The brunette ate a spoonful. "This isn't going to be a quick meeting. You should go exploring or do just about anything but sitting in that building longer than need be."

He didn't answer, only taking another bite from his bagel. Mind overthinking now like she herself was. She seemed to pick up on that uneasiness off of him. "I'm not trying to push you away, I just that there was more things to see than being locked away for the day. I mean we're literally in the middle of the hot spot of D.C." She spoke around another spoonful. "Arlington National Cemetery on one side and then every memorial and monument you can fathom on the other."

Steve thought about it for a second, eyes trailing across the wood table while he chewed slowly on his breakfast. He knew she wasn't trying to push him away, she was actually thinking about him. But was also trying to push away her own damn nerves. Him waiting for her there would probably be on her mind, feeling bad about leaving him to his own devices, thoughts not on the meeting she as in. It would also give his anxious energy somewhere to nestle.

"Alright, I'll got to Arlington."

"Becca's eyes grew with happiness of his decision. "Perfect, you're going to love it. It's very somber but beautiful."

At the opportunity of his visit, it gave Becca something else to think over and tell him about. Her thoughts of work escaping for a second. Steve let her talk with enthusiasm about the sights he would be seeing, happy to watch her shoulders ease down from the spot by her ears. That was until she checked the clock and noticed they would have to be leaving soon.

The ride to SHIELD's headquarters was anything but silent. Becca pointed out every sight they passed by, but her fingers kept twisting around themselves. The Triskelion was now in their vision, just a bridge between them. The man that was stationed at the gate was clearly not expecting two Avengers to be rolling up today, showing their SHIELD IDs. Steve pulled to the side under the underpass, Becca looking into the entrance where people were walking about.

"We can just go." The soldier's words were a whisper in the small car they shared. "I can turn around and we can just leave. Never look back."

A soft grin fell on her lips, eyes gazing down to her lap. "I wish, but I got to get this done."

"The second you're ready, just call me. I'll come get you immediately."

The spy nodded, looking up to find his blue eyes filled with compassion. "Go learn something, God knows you need it."

He laughed at her joke, eyes rolling. "Good luck."

With a final thanks, Becca finally got out of the car, no doubt going to be late for the meeting at this point. Walking across the lobby her eyes couldn't help but lock on to the giant SHIELD emblem that sat in the middle for everyone to see, just if you forgot where you were located. She took the elevator up to the World Security Council where she was supposed to be meeting Alexander Pierce.

As Becca exited the glass elevator, that's when her emotions changed. No longer was she the timid girl of a few minutes ago, she was now and would always be Lithe, the Avenger. A team member that a fought a god and alien-kind from taking over their planet. Whatever was about to take place, she would do what was in her best interest.

"Mr. Secretary." Becca gave the older gentleman a tight-lipped smile as she walked towards him.

"Agent Bex," Pierce shook her hand, his own smile on his face, "thank you for coming."

"Of course. I heard it was of utmost importance."

"As was your work in New York. We are grateful for you service in that battle."

She didn't comment on the battle, just nodded and moved along. "Will you be in the meeting?"

The man nodded, hands resting in his pockets. "I'll be introducing and then sitting off to the side. If you need anything, I'll be happy to assist." He took her nod as a sign that she was indeed ready and moved them towards the open room. Four empty chairs were pointed towards the center of the room, the walled windows sitting behind them. Around those chairs were a thick piece of glass. One more chair sat on the inside, facing the others. Clearly the one for Becca.

"Only two council members will be with us today."

The statement had a deep breath being internally released from her. It was at least 50% less of the pressure than all four of them at once. Becca took her seat, bag resting on the ground and crossed her legs as Pierce started the call. Two members appeared, sitting on the two chairs in front of her. A vision decay from wherever they were in the world at the moment.

"Good Afternoon, Councilman Malick," the Secretary nodded at the man before turning to do the same to the woman, "Councilwoman Hawley. Thank you for taking some time out of your morning for this meeting."

"Well, after two months of asking it was about time this meeting happen." Malick said, his voice one of annoyance.

Becca held back the glare and volatile words that were on the tip of her tongue. The man clearly was used to getting what he always wanted.

The Secretary ignored the comment and continued. "This is Agent Bex-"

"-Rebecca Stark," Hawley smiled at the young woman, "it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, Councilwoman," Said girl returned the smile before turning to the man with a solemn nod, "Councilman."

"We've been wanting to meet with you for quite some time, Agent. It seemed that Fury has been stalling every street to get you." Malick started at her. "How do you feel about him holding this away from you?"

"I believe my Director does was he believes is best for every situation."

"And was the creation of the Avengers the best situation?"

Her eyes narrowed at the man now, hands coming to fold against her lap. She could feel the knife holster that was hidden under her skirt, giving her a sense of calm in an outrageous situation. "What can I do for you today?"

"Despite the actions that have happened in the past, first and foremost you are a SHIELD agent." The elder woman took over the conversation now. "But you are also a Stark, and that name alone holds high regards."

"Director Fury and I have discussed the repercussions from that knowledge."

"And for four years we were lucky enough that you were never put in the spotlight because of your job. And right now SHIELD is still an unknown entity to the public. But you yourself is a public figure."

"Ma'am?" Becca wasn't following where she was going with this.

"We've all seen the news reports, Agent." The older man spoke up. "Everyone thinks you are a part of the Avengers, looking for you and where you ran off to for the past few months. The entire world is trying to put together who the cracked up team was-"

"-A team that wouldn't have been needed it you didn't order Project PEGASUS to begin in the first place." She had it was the vile words this man decided to speak.

"Excuse me?" Malick leaned forward in the seat, hands gripping the chair's armrest. He clearly was not expecting the change of attitude from her.

"If you hadn't had ordered SHIELD into working with the Tesseract without having any backup of a plan B, C, or D you wouldn't be so sore over the creation of the Avengers." Pierce and Hawley just watched the interaction between the two develop.

"Well, Fury definitely put ideas in your head."

"No sire, these are all quite my own thoughts, feelings, and actions." Becca's tone remained to be solid, no emotions allowing to take its place. "Myself, and my equals, have been risking our lives because that is our choice, sir. That is why we joined SHIELD. But how dare you sit there and blame the rest of us for trying to clean up the mess yourselves created. That blood is on your hands."

Malick was glowing in anger at this point, possibly annoying him more that he wasn't there in person to truly try to intimidate her. "Feel better after that outburst, Stark?"

"I don't know. I still might be a bit touchy after you sent a nuclear bomb to kill me." She challenged him to respond with an eyebrow raised.

And for once, Gideon Malick was silent.

"Agent Bex," Hawley spoke to break the tension that was growing, "what you did in New York was admirable."

"Will all do respect ma'am, I'm not looking for a gold star. I'm looking for responsibility of actions and how they can be changed to positively affect the future."

"Understandable. And that's what leads us back to the real reason you were asked here today." She looked to the right to see that her cohort was not going to continue in any action. "For the time being we would like to continue to keep you under spy status. Your identity to continue only as Agent Bex or Lithe."

"Okay." Becca was confused. Why couldn't have this just been a phone call? Better yet, just have Fury tell her this.

"After many years, this organization continues to grow. And now with the knowledge of extraterrestrials coming to earth, SHIELD's role continues to get larger and is bumping against the government in aspects. When the time comes, and talks need to be had in public and in private, we would like you to be the face of SHIELD."

Now those were the words she was not expecting. "The face of SHIELD. Is this because of my last name?"

"This is what your grandfather wanted for you, Bex." Pierce now spoke up from where he was a step behind her. "He wanted you to be the voice of SHIELD."

"And you have proven today you are quite capable of holding your own in a room." Malick voiced his opinion now.

"What all does this entail?" Becca looked back to Hawley.

"The details have not been hashed out yet. We first wanted to speak to you and the matter, see where you stand." The woman smiled softly towards her now. "We want to have you higher and more integrated in this organization."

It was a big step. Something she never saw herself doing. Becca never wanted the image from Stark Industries because she was never invested with what was happening. But since the first day Clint had crashing into her apartment to save her life and hearing out Fury, this was the next step that would one day happen. And like Alexander Pierce said, it's what her grandfather wanted.

"I have some stipulations."

Malick cleared his throat in annoyance. "They are?"

"You reinstate Clint Barton to good standings."

"You can't be serious? He has killed many people."

"That man was under mind control and you know it." She looked back and forth between the council members. "If you don't trust him, than you should not trust me because that man has taught me everything I know."

The two on the council were quiet as they looked at each other. Both having a silent conversation before Hawley turned back to the younger woman to ask if there was anything else.

"It deals with Captain Rogers. I am asking you to have Secretary Ross stand down."

"Excuse me?"

"Since the wake of Captain Rogers, Secretary Ross has done nothing but try to get to him. With all due respect, he's not a lab rat. That man has done nothing but risk his life, multiple times over, for this country since becoming Captain America. The second we walked into this area he was scouting the Captain out. I'm asking you, again, to have him back off."

This one had no hesitation. "That will be easily taken care of. Is that all?"

Becca nodded her head. "That is all for the moment."

Looking back at the situation, she probably should have bargained for more. But that was the two biggest problems that had been yelling loudly in her mind.

The conversation ended peacefully with council before Becca finished things with Pierce. After the nerves she had been having for the past week, the ending was so anti-climactic. She texted Steve on the way down, taking a seat outside to wait for him. The bench sat with a view of the water and the land on either side.

The warm wind slowly thawed her out to her bones as she thought about the situation she just agreed to. Basically, at any second her life could change, and she had no control over the situation or when it would happen. Like she told Clint, she wanted to get on the inside and if this was the first step, then she was ready to take the stairs.

"Hey." A voice broke her concentration but wasn't at all surprised by Steve's appearance so soon.

She looked over her shoulder at him as he walked from their car that was idle on the side. "Hey there."

Steve pulled a pair of aviator sunglasses off his face as he took a seat beside her. "So, how'd it go?"

"Impatient much?"

"Always." His answer finally broke a big smile and laugh from her. A smile he had been missing.

"It went a lot better than expected."

"Good!" He was joyed with her answer, but still saw a bit of hesitation on her face. "Not good?"

"Either I agreed to something that will better my future or I set myself up for failure." Becca explained to him the situation. All of it, not leaving anything out.

"That's a lot, Becca." Steve rubbed his eyes, taking in the new development. "That would mean you playing their spokesperson."

She nodded, thinking of the new position but also feeling a bit relieved. "Yes, but I got something for you out of it."

"Me?"

"I got them to agree on keeping Ross away from you. He won't be bothering you anymore."

"Yes, but he hasn't been bothering me."

"Because I have stopped him midway." She pointed out. "Now we no longer have to worry about him at all."

"So, instead of making an ultimatum for yourself, you did something for me?" He rose his eyebrows to look at her. "You're something else."

"Thank you!" The brunette pushed all her hair over one shoulder before changing the subject. "How was Arlington?"

"Somber, like you mentioned." Steve looked over the landscape in front of them. "But also gave me a better perspective."

Becca turned towards him to give him her full attention. "Of what?"

"The people that had served in many ways before me and after me. Now included. Just knowing that those who have lost are still honored for their lives." He looked over at her with a sliver of a smile. "Lost but not forgotten."

She knew who he was specifically referring to and it broke her heart knowing he still had visions of Bucky falling before him, similar to the ones she had of Coulson. But she knew where she needed to take Steve next. To fully show that the words he just spoke were very true.

"Come on, I want to take you somewhere." She stood from the bench, waiting for him to do the same.

"Where?" He placed his sunglasses back on.

"Trust me?" Becca held a hand out to take the keys. And without hesitation, he dropped them in her open palm.

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_**July 3rd, 2012** _

"One large coffee, black. And a large, iced coffee with a caramel swirl. Thanks."

The cashier at the cafe smiled at Becca, after taking her order and finishing the payment. The brunette pulled the baseball cap lower on her head, sunglasses still perched on her nose, as she walked to the other end of the counter to wait for her order. With it being the day before July 4th, the city was packed everywhere they turned. All the festivities had Becca hiding in plain sight more than usual.

She turned to look out the glass windows to see that Steve was still where she had left him; sitting at the small table outside waiting for her. He was occupied with something on his phone, not letting her get a good ready of emotions after their day yesterday and the long night.

Thinking it would be a good idea, and it wasn't a bad one necessarily, Becca had taken him to the SHIELD Academy the day before. With all of his talk of memorials, she thought it was best to show him the Wall of Valor, and more specifically who was first etched into the marble. Steve all but stopped breathing entirely seeing 'Sgt. James 'Bucky' Barnes' etched under the SSR symbol. His jaw clenched tightly, eyes looking over every name after, seeing other Howling Commandos later on in the years. Their legacy written right there for old and new members to see.

"Not forgotten." Becca whispered softly so only he could hear in the rather scarce entrance way.

Steve could only nod, eyes going back to Bucky's name. His throat tightened with memories so vivid flashing across his mind. She could feel his heavy emotions and gently weaved her hand into his own. The feel of her palm keeping him grounded. The rest of the evening had him finally opening up to her about those times. He told her story after story of the missions and the shenanigans the Commandos had accompanied together. Letting her into those deep memories he had not shared yet.

It was no wonder she spent the night listening to him roll back and forth on his bed. He drug up old times that were subject of a few dreams and nightmares alike. But he played it off as nothing was wrong, not wanting her to worry. This led them to now, guzzling down coffee that they needed to get through today, even after the breakfast they just enjoyed. But more specifically to get to the next part.

Becca grabbed her drinks when they were called and made her squeeze back through the crowd to the front door. "I think New York gets busy but moves faster, now is that possible?" Her words gained Steve's attention with a small smile.

"I think you're just cranky today." The man pointed out. He stood from his set to stuff his phone in his pocket before accepting the coffee cup she offered him. "Thank you."

"I think my nerves are officially shot." She agreed with him, taking a pull from her straw. "You ready?"

Steve nodded, the two making their way towards the car. As soon as Becca got behind the wheel, she threw the baseball hat to the backseat and started their drive to the retirement home. It was a bit of a drive and also adding on to the holiday traffic that surrounded them. Today was their last day in the capitol before they began their drive him the next day. So it was either get Steve there now or never. The man next to her was on high alert as she turned the car down a gravel road, trees on either side before the vast, white building was in front of them.

"Where are we?" Steve hesitantly unbuckled his seat belt, eyes still searching as she began to get out.

"There's a surprise for you inside." Was all Becca said before getting out of the vehicle, followed by Steve.

"I don't understand." Steve's eyes looked over the wide building in front of them, looking more like a mansion than anything. "Becca, where are we?"

She stopped a few steps in front of him, so close to stepping on the stairs. She had gotten them there and was working off of instinct to get him inside, but this wasn't a mission. This was a more emotional moment and was about to lead into an overall 'now or never'. Becca turned around to glance up at him. The sun was in her eyes, but that didn't matter. Steve stood a head taller than her like always and he was bathed in the glow. He had followed her down here, agreeing to the trip and everywhere she thought to go. But now this was specifically for him. A moment that was far too long overdue.

"This was a big reason I wanted you to come with me on this trip."

"A nursing home?" He questioned, reading the sign on the brick building. "Why?"

She nodded, pushing her wavy hair behind her ear. "I've been here once before when I wanted to get some answers about my place in SHIELD and my grandfather."

"Okay…"

It was now or never. "Peggy is here."

With those words, Steve's whole demeanor changed. From one face of confusion to now complete shock. His blue eyes bouncing between her and the building. Almost not believing what she was telling him. "How...I thought…"

"She's not in England. That's a false location for her safety." Her heart was beating out of her chest waiting for his response. Waiting for anything, whether that was agreeing to go in or getting back in the car and never speaking of this again. Seeing Bucky's memorial was one thing, but actually being with a person from his past, this was now or never. "She, um...she has the beginnings of Alzheimer's. It's in her best interest to be kept safe if something happens."

His brow creased at the news, jaw clenching tight to hold whatever emotion was bubbling inside. She couldn't tell if it was anger or grief or shock, maybe a mix of everything. In the 10 months that had had been in this new world the thought of seeing anyone from his past had never been brought up or even a possibility. Now it was slamming him head on full force.

"We can leave if you really want." Her voice was soft, only inches away from him now to talk. "We can get back in the car and go. But I know you don't want to."

"Becca…" He trailed off.

"You can do this." She held out a hand for him to take and with a second thought he grabbed it. "We go at your speed, okay?"

"Okay."

Becca guided them up the stone steps and into the rather busy building. People were bustling about as they walked to the front desk, Steve's hand slipping from her own as she got the attention of the man at the desk. "Hello, my name's Rebecca. I'm here to see Margaret Carter."

"Rebecca, yes," the younger gentleman looked over the thick book, "we have you down here for a visit. Ms. Carter is upstairs in room 201. You're free to head up there."

"Great, thank you so much." She turned from the desk, finding the main stairs could be seen in the middle of the building for anyone to take if they would like. She cocked her head and Steve followed along, staying silent and just observing his surroundings.

As they reached the top of the stairs and took a left, the room was right there. Easily accessible and just calling out to them. But as Becca stepped forward to keep going, Steve's hand grabbed her own tightly to hold her back, the look he gave her was surely nerves as she looked back in question.

"I can't do this." He voiced his fears, whispering to her. "What if she doesn't recognize me, or what if she's angry that I didn't-"

"-Stop." She hushed him. Her hand that wasn't trapped in his own came to rest against his shoulder, thumb brushing against the bone. "You're overthinking this way too much. She is going to be delighted to see you. She's been dreaming of this day just as much as you have been. It's like ripping a Band-Aid off, okay?"

Steve took a deep breath, trying to level his head, before nodding. "Will you go in first?"

"Of course." Becca gave him one last reassuring smile before this time going to the door, leaving him to wait on the corner. She stuck her head inside, seeing the women sitting in her chair next to the open window, reading a book. Her silver curled perfectly around her head as she sat their in elegance that only Peggy Carter to give off. Becca knocked on the open door, gaining her attention. "Hi, Peggy."

The older woman squinted her eyes to adjust to her face for a second before you could see the light change in her face. "Rebecca. Oh dear, it's so good to see you."

"You as well. I'm sorry it's been so long since I last came here."

"Oh nonsense." Peggy waved her off, setting the book down her table. "From the looks of it, you have been quite busy."

"You could say that." She stuck her thumbs in the denim of her shorts, not knowing what else to say but to get it over with. Rip the Band-Aid. "I actually have something for you this time."

"For me? What is it, dear?"

Becca felt time stand still as Steve entered the room and they each looked at each other. Peggy's eye widened, almost not believing the sight before her. The man that she had lost so many years ago was in her presences.

"Hey, Peggy." Steve whispered, the knot stuck in his throat at seeing the woman again.

"Steve…" Peggy breathed, eyes drowning in tears. "You're-you're alive."

"Yeah, Peggy. I'm alive." He walked to her corner as she carefully stood from her seat. She was easily brought into his arms, holding each other close as tears and mumbles of missings were exchanged between the two. Becca stayed back, her own tears blurring her eyesight of seeing the two reconnected after so long apart.

"I knew it was you. I just knew it." Peggy broke out, allowing Steve to help her back in her former seat, kneeling down in front of her. "The news and the talks of Captain America, I knew it had to be you."

"It was me." He held onto her hands tightly, but not to hurt her. He was not able to take his eyes off of her, and she him.

"I'll give you two some time." Becca spoke softly, quickly breaking the small bubble that had surrounded around the two. "Take as much time as you want."

"Thank you, Becca." Steve gave her a tear-filled smile before looking back at Peggy.

Becca left them alone, closing the door to be only open a smidge to allow them the most privacy they needed. The young Stark didn't waste long to make her way out of the building, the tears she had held in threatening to erupt from her chest. Thankfully no one was outside the building as the rivers began falling from her cheeks as she blindly stumbled down the stone steps. She ran to the car, leaning against the driver's side until she found herself sitting on the gravel out of sight.

She cried and cried for anything and everything. Seeing Steve's true fear in the past two days, the fear that he will truly have everything taken from him like it has time and time again and be left alone. That the most important people in his life had been taken from him in one way or another. And also thinking he did the hurting. And it crushed her, because she cared for this man deeply. In a sense she had never cared for someone before. She thought the world of him and all she could continue to do is stick by his side and show him she wasn't going anywhere.

But it was deep down, her fears projecting themselves from him. It be left alone was hers, but in the sense that everyone would walk away from her. She would be left alone because it was their decision and she started realizing on this trip was that she didn't like being alone. It was why she never stayed alone in her apartment for longer than a day, it was why she loved New York knowing she could walk out her door and feel surrounded, it was why she always gave people second chances than dropping them from her life.

The tears settle for a bit, her hand pulling her cell phone from her jean shorts pocket. It was easy to find the contact she needed at this moment and she would always need. The line rang as she calmed for breathing to sound normal.

"You tired of the Capsicle already?" Tony's voice was light coming through her phone.

She laughed but rolled her eyes. "Not in the slightest. Can't I just call to see how you are?"

"Yes, but it sounds debatable given that you are in D.C. You know, my least favorite place in the world."

"I thought your least favorite place was an Apple store."

There was a pause on the line followed by a groan. "Okay, now you're just being mean to your father."

Becca chuckled, wiping the last of the tears on her face. "I have to keep my game up with you," she heard the distinct sound of metal being placed together. "Did I interrupt you? You can get back to work."

"Nonsense, I always have time for my favorite daughter."

"Your only daughter." She corrected him.

"If that's what you want to believe." Tony joked, dropping some tools on the bench. "It's about time I took a break anyways."

"You've been working for 36 hours, sir." Jarvis spoke, easily being heard through the phone since it was part of his system.

"Dad!"

"Thanks for the heads up, Jarvis." His tone one of sarcasm. "It's nothing, honey. You know when I start on something, I get lost in it 'til it's done."

She was quite away of the trait. There were plenty of times that he would be stuck in his lab for days at a time, Becca only seeing him when she got home from school. That drive ran in the Stark family. "I miss you, Dad."

"Miss you too, baby girl. Pepper and I are supposed to make a trip sometime in the middle of the month to finish the final remodels on the tower."

Becca had been watching the slow work that had start on the newly named 'Avengers Tower' since the battle. They had been more focused on helping the city than getting the tower up and running ASAP and she liked that idea. Tower however was now equipped with a section for each Avenger, a home base for them you could say.

"I'm looking forward to it." Her voice was soft again, everything falling on to her again.

Tony heard the tone difference immediately. "You okay, Bec?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I just...I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?"

"For a lot I guess." She chuckled a smidge to try to not cry again. "Letting me pursue my dreams and then not dragging me out of hellfire when I decided to change everything and not tell you. Just...letting me figure myself out."

"Rebecca Maria Stark, you are allowed to be whoever you want to be, and I will be proud and supportive every step of the way."

It was the words she needed right now, especially with the possibility of a new assignment on her from SHIELD. She would always be the little girl who needed her father's jumpstart to the future.

* * *

"How does it feel to be going on 94 in a 27 year old's body?"

Steve chuckled but rolled his eyes at Peggy's words. "You're being ridiculous."

"And you're being dramatic as ever." She laughed as well that turned into a small cough. "Anything special planned for your day tomorrow?"

"I don't think so." He shook his head, settled in the one extra chair that was placed beside her table by the window. "Becca and I are planning on going by to New York tomorrow to beat some of the holiday traffic early." He said the words before realizing he would be leaving her again.

They had caught up quickly. A little emotional at first but it easily enough to fall back into their old repetuar. Each of them just so enthralled to be beside each other again, no matter the time that had been placed differently between the two.

"Very smart. That girl has a good head on her shoulders." Peggy moved past the thick emotion he exhaled at the previous thought. "You stick with her, hopefully she'll be someone to keep you out of trouble."

"I'm not trouble."

"Steven, your picture is in the dictionary next to the word." She watched him laugh again, happy knowing he was happy. "In all honesty though, you have to be comfortable enough with her if she got you here."

He nodded, eyes drifting down to his lap before answering. "She's been with me from the beginning. Has helped me every step of the way so far. I honestly don't think I could have done any of this without her."

The former agent 'Mmm'ed in agreement, watching his eyes glow softly at the talk of the girl. "Would never expect her to be Howard's granddaughter with how she handles herself."

"No," Steve shook his head, thinking of the argument months ago because of it, "she is truly something special."

It was that moment before anyone else truly stated it, especially Steve and Becca, that Peggy already could see the outcome of their fates before anyone else. She would be the first one to hear Steve's true confession of Becca almost a year before anything would evolve into something more. It was that moment that everything had changed without them knowing it.

"I am sorry, Peggy."

"Oh darling," she shook her head at him, grabbing his hand once again, "you need to stop apologizing for something that wasn't your control. You did what was best for the greater good, and we are thankful for that. My only wish now is for you to try to live your life to the fullest. You deserve that."

He never truly thought he did, saying those same feeling to Becca a few weeks back. But now hearing it coming from someone that he had always and will always admire might change him in a new direction for the future.

A knock came from the door having the two of them turn to see Becca standing their with an almost guilty face. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but they're saying visitation is over for the afternoon."

"Oh, that's alright." Peggy saying softly, seeing that 2 hours had passed since they first sat down.

"I'll try to come down again as soon as I can." Steve leaned forward to be closer to her one last time, hands still tightly bound together.

"It's no fuss, my dear. You can call me anytime."

He nodded, dragging out the time the best he could but still knowing they needed to leave. He stood from his seat and bent over to gather her in his arms one last time, holding on tightly. "I'll talk to you soon, Peggy."

"Sounds wonderful." She gave him a quick kiss on the check before letting him stand to his full height again. "Be safe, my darling."

He nodded, giving her one last hand squeeze before heading over to Becca.

"It was brilliant to see you, Angie. Please don't be a stranger."

The name Peggy spoke had both Becca and Steve, stagger in their steps for a second confused. Angie. Why would she call Becca Angie? The two only said their goodbye's again before leaving the room. The first question leaving Steve's lips was the same as the one she was thinking.

"I don't know." Becca replied, the two thank the man at the front desk who was holding the door open for them to leave. "Let's not worry about that right now. How are you?"

They stopped at the trunk of the car, to regroup before they headed out for the rest of the day. What Becca didn't expect was the hug that Steve pulled her into as they stopped. This one so much different than from when he gave her in comfort in the tower after the battle.

"Thank you, Becca. Thank you so much for everything." Steve's words spoke directly into her ear.

She squeezed him back in the comfort she found. "You are so welcome, Steve."

* * *

"Is this even allowed?"

"It is if you don't think about it."

"What if we get caught?"

"Then play dumb. That we definitely didn't know the words 'Employees Only' was on the sign."

"Rebecca."

"Fine, then jump off the roof, Steven. Damn, I didn't think you would be the one to comment to me about breaking the rules."

"Only because I know you'll freeze if we are caught."

This finally got Becca to stop climbing the stairs, turning on her toes to looked down at Steve with shock of his words. He only smirked, daring her to prove him wrong. "So help me God, I'll push you off the roof myself."

"Empty threats don't suit you." He stepped up to the stair right below her own, basically bringing them face to face in the dim light stairway.

"Say that to my very sharp knife attached to my belt." She pushed him back a step before racing up to the top finally with him hot on her heels. She pushed the roof door open with ease and let him by, before looking around to spot a cinder block that she instructed him to put in the door jam so they didn't get locked up there.

"You do this often?" He asked, watching her get a lay of the roof.

"I'm a Stark, remember." She looked out of the dark landscape for the perfect spot. "That means that I was being watched over my entire life and had to find secret places to escape." She picked a spot and dropped her things to the cement roof. "Also, a bit of mischief runs in my blood."

Steve only smiled, happy to learn new things about her just as much as she did him. "You haven't even told me why we're up here."

The blanket that she stole from their hotel room was now being placed on the ground for the two to sit on. "Well, it's our last night and it just happens to be Saturday of July 4th weekend, which means fireworks. Over the water and other places around the city." She crossed her legs as she sat down, two plastic bags next to her. "Now, I figured we could take our chances with them, might not be as loud from up here and farther away from them."

He stood at the edge of the blanket looking down at her in awe once again. Everything she does, every single time, she thinks every possible outcome from everyone else but herself. The easiness that came from playfulness just a second ago to endearing. Without another thought, Steve sat down the blanket next to her. His head nodded towards her bags. "What you got there?"

"Drinks and snacks for the event." Becca handed him a soda before dumping out the junk food in front of them for their choice during the evening.

The summer air was still a big sticky in the July night. The sound of insects in the night sky and the floating noise from the streets down below them were surrounding the small bubble the two of them had created from themselves on the top of their hotel. And after a week of being busy physically and going through emotional responses, it was the perfect way to end their mini-vacation together.

"I had a really good time this week." Steve spoke up first, wanting to get the words out there before the fireworks would start any minute now. "Thanks for doing this, Becca."

She gave him a big smile, pulling apart a twizzler to each. "Me too. I'm glad we got to do this." The girl ate a piece before offering some to him. "I think it's safe to say I do enjoy your company, Steve Rogers."

"Well the feeling is mutual, Rebecca Stark." He swallowed the piece she gave him before continuing. "Thank you for not telling me about Peggy. I think if I would have known I would have stalled on going to see her and would have only regretted it more in the long run."

"How do you feel now that you've seen her?"

Steve leaned back on his hands, watching the city skyline to contemplate how to answer. "I feel...like I can finally exhale. My peace, for the most part, has been finally made with my past. Now I can start looking forward to the future. Whatever the hell that might be."

"Do you think you would want to be here? To be closer to Peggy?"

"I don't know. Yes, it's true she is the closest thing I have from my previous life. I definitely felt relaxed being in her atmosphere, almost the feeling of home."

Becca nodded, understanding his words. Did she want Steve to leave New York, of course not. She didn't want him to move away from her, but she also wasn't one to stop someone from doing what they truly wanted in their heart. So, if moving to D.C. was what would make Steve ultimately happy than she would help him move.

"But I think I might be building a new one for myself. In New York."

She didn't know if Steve saw her reaction, but it was one of relief. But he looked at her like she should have known that answer from him anyways. That she should have known Becca was becoming his new safe house. His home base.

Before either said anything else, the sound of the first pop from a firework went off over the water. It was far enough away that you could barely even hear the booming thunder, but that didn't mean Becca didn't keep a close eye on Steve just incase it got too much for him. The duo sat back, watching the bright colors fill the dark sky. Each one different as it exploded, raining rainbows of colors. No words needed to be said. Just the comfort of being next to one another was enough as they created another memory. That's what Becca truly wanted to do with him. Create memories that would push away his hard times. To give him something to grasp on to when it all felt like too much.

"What else do you got over there?" Steve broke the silence between them as there was a lull in the display. Becca had been digging through a plastic bag and doing all sorts of things that he could only hear.

"Don't look."

"Don't look? So you are planning on pushing me off the roof."

"Not exactly."

She turned towards him now, with something special. Steve's eyes widened at seeing a single cupcake in her palm with blue icing that had a candle sticking out the top of it. The surprises just kept coming.

"I know your birthday is technically not for another 3 hours, but I wanted to let you cherish it now before our drive home tomorrow."

He looked back and forth from the lit cupcake to her smiling face just a few inches above it. "I don't know how you always seem to surprise me, Becca."

"Just here to keep you on your toes."

"Don't ever stop." He whispered, before blowing the candle out with a wish. One that even he couldn't believe he made. "Thank you, Bec."

She bit her lip to try to keep the ever-growing smile that was forming, but it was overpowering. "Happy Birthday, Steve."

* * *

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